Victor Wembanyama’s next few weeks are now set: starting this weekend, he will play in the French League Finals before the San Antonio Spurs almost certainly make him the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NBA draft.
And if that means the French star’s summer league debut will be in Sacramento instead of Las Vegas in early July, then the league is fine with that.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league has no preference for the location of Wembanyama’s first game with the Spurs.
While the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is the largest—all 30 teams attend—and draws the most attention, there are smaller summer leagues that precede the Vegas event by a few days. Sacramento is hosting one of those events, and the Spurs are one of six teams heading there this year.
“All summer leagues are NBA summer leagues,” Silver said. “I am a big supporter of Sacramento’s summer league.
Victor Wembanyama will most likely make his NBA Summer League debut in Sacamento
Commissioner Adam Silver said the league is OK with Wembanyama not debuting in Vegas
The last No. 1 pick not to make his Summer League debut in Vegas was Markelle Fultz
“I remember when (Kings owner Vivek Ranadive) first came to the league and said this was something he wanted to do. I said, “As long as you have enough other teams supporting it and players willing to play in it, it’s a good thing.”
The Kings may be getting a lot more buzz than usual this summer. Not only the Spurs go there, but so does Charlotte – who has the number 2 pick.
And coincidentally, the Spurs and Hornets open the summer game in Sacramento against each other, potentially paving the way for a No. 1 vs. number 2 game a few days before Vegas even starts.
If Wembanyama plays in Sacramento, he would be the first No. 1 pick not to debut in Las Vegas since Markelle Fultz for Philadelphia in 2017. The 76ers played in Utah’s summer league that year before heading to Vegas.
Other recent No. 1 picks have opened in Las Vegas with big crowds and a big spectacle.
At Paolo Banchero’s Vegas debut for Orlando last summer, John Wall and DeMar DeRozan sat next to the court, as did Jerry West—three guys who didn’t need to see the scalpers working outside the arena hours before the game.
Zion Williamson played just nine minutes in his 2019 debut, in a game stopped by an earthquake, and his debut saw LeBron James and Anthony Davis take their seats on the court.
The Spurs have not said whether Wembanyama will play in the Sacramento event, which begins July 3, and will almost certainly not discuss the subject until they actually draft him in just over two weeks.
No. 1 picks Zion Williamson and Pablo Banchero drew huge summer league crowds
Wembanyama is also expected to be with the Spurs in Las Vegas; the league has already announced him as one of the participants for the inaugural NBA Con – taking place there July 7-9 and will celebrate many aspects of basketball culture.
“What made the summer leagues so valuable is really more the media rights than the individuals buying tickets there, because it’s a very affordable experience,” Silver said. “So the answer is, I want Victor to gain field experience and I think the team — assuming it’s San Antonio — needs to make decisions that are completely independent of any commercial implications of where he’s debuting.”
Wembanyama’s Boulogne-Levallois team beat its former team, ASVEL, 3-1 in a series of French league semi-finals that ended on Sunday. Monaco, the top seed in the league, awaits Wembanyama’s team in the best-of-five final that begins Saturday and can run until June 20 – two days before the draft.
“So proud of my boys,” Wembanyama tweeted on Sunday after winning the semi-final. “Task is not done yet.”
Wembanyama said in October that he is 2 meters tall; some still say he’s 7-foot-4 or 7-foot-5, and considering he’s only 19, it’s definitely possible he’s had to grow some more in recent months. Either way, he’s a talent of a generation who’s entering the NBA with huge hype, the likes of which probably hasn’t been seen since James became No. 1 overall in Cleveland in 2003.
“What I try to advise players – and I’m not making any predictions about whether or not he will live up to the hype – is to control what you can control, and I think what you can control does the job,” Silver said.
“When he’s in San Antonio, it’s an organization that has been at the forefront of international scouting and signing international players.
“Certainly, anyone would recognize that they know how to develop players and especially big men. And so, if I were in his shoes, or if I were advising him, I’d say, ‘Get part of that organization quickly and be a sponge and listen to the advice.’