Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 forward Victor Wembanyama. Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

Victor Wembanyama sends message after Spurs land No. 1 pick

By Jeff Smith | Last updated 5/17/23

While nothing is official until the 2023 NBA Draft wraps up, French super-prospect Victor Wembanyama should feel comfortable in having a pretty strong idea about where he'll begin his NBA career.

After the San Antonio Spurs won the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery, leaving the Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers to select Nos. 2 and 3, any outcome in which Wembanyama isn't wearing a Spurs jersey next season seems unlikely.

And for Wembanyama, a prospect who fans, analysts, scouts, and even players have fawned over, it appears he's more than happy with the idea of playing in San Antonio as well.

Wembanyama was on camera during the lottery and applauded the outcome, as seen in a video posted by the NBA.

Live from Paris… #NBADraft prospect Victor Wembanyama reacts to the #NBADraftLottery presented by State Farm! pic.twitter.com/YBnNQ4hgQk
— NBA (@NBA) May 17, 2023

Along with that, the NBA (via Bleacher Report) caught up with Wembanyama, who spoke about how the relation between the Spurs franchise and his home country of France, citing Tony Parker and Boris Diaw.

He also stated that the "whole country" wanted them to have the No. 1 pick and that Wembanyama even recorded himself saying the morning of the lottery that he knew the Spurs would get the top pick.

"There's a special relation between France and the Spurs ... The whole country wanted the Spurs to have the first pick."

"There's a special relation between France and the Spurs. ... The whole country wanted the Spurs to have the first pick."

-Victor Wembanyama

(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/PuPdb2KfaD
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 17, 2023

It would take one of the biggest curveballs in NBA draft history for Wembanyama to wind up playing anywhere other than San Antonio at this point.

Assuming all goes to plan, you'd be hard-pressed to find a coach better than Gregg Popovich, who's coached some elite big men in his career, including the likes of David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

If Wembanyama is next, he could have the chance to be coached by one of the NBA's best ever, which is a great outlook for the 7-foot-2, 19-year-old potential phenom.

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