Why Victor Wembanyama should be thrilled with lottery outcome

It's entirely fitting that global sensation Victor Wembanyama landed with the San Antonio Spurs, a team renowned for nurturing international talents such as Tony Parker (France), Manu Ginobili (Argentina), Patty Mills (Australia) and Boris Diaw (France).

"There's a special connection between France and the Spurs. The whole country wanted the Spurs to have the first pick," the French-born Wembanyama said after Tuesday's NBA Draft lottery.

This is the third time in franchise history that San Antonio has the No. 1 overall pick. The previous two, David Robinson (1987) and Tim Duncan (1997), rank among the greatest players in league history. 

Not everyone is pleased with the Spurs' fortunes.

"Being able to draft the three best center prospects of the last 35 years would be some bulls**t," a rival scout said of San Antonio.

There are several reasons why San Antonio is the perfect destination for the 7-foot-5 Frenchman.

For one, the Spurs have a proven track record of molding players (Robinson, Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard) into stars.

Although the Spurs haven't had a winning season since 2018-19, they have demonstrated an ability to foster a winning culture. From 1998-2019, San Antonio never had a losing season and won five NBA titles. Plus, San Antonio CEO R.C. Buford is a two-time winner of NBA Executive of the Year. 

San Antonio also has promising young talent in emerging players Jeremy Sochan, Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell.

But the cherry on top is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, coaches in NBA history, Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich. "Pop" is the winningest coach in league history. 

So congratulations, Wembanyama, your chances of reaching greatness skyrocketed on Tuesday. It sure beats ending up in Charlotte, where NBA dreams go to die.