Top NBA Draft prospect Victor Wembanyama already has his sights set on global domination.
The San Antonio Spurs will select Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 overall pick in next month's NBA Draft. The move will usher in a new era of Spurs basketball and give the NBA its most exciting young player since LeBron James.
The 7-foot-5 center out of France is already being placed on a pedestal with LeBron and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. That level of expectation can tank a young player's career and public perception, but Wembanyama might actually have the goods to deliver on the hype.
One has to imagine Wembanyama, with his uncommon level of skill and mobility on offense and his elite rim protection skills on defense, will impact winning in the NBA sooner than later. The French superstar, however, has his sights set much higher than that.
Victor Wembanyama plans to beat Team USA in the 2024 Olympics
The French National Team will undoubtedly welcome Wembanyama into the fold ahead of the 2024 Olympics. Those 2024 Olympics happen to be situated in Paris, the hometown of Wembanyama's current team. The stars are aligning for a special run.
"And there could be no more perfect occasion for me to win my first title with the French national team," Wembanyama told French broadcaster Pascal Giberné. "My goal is to beat Team USA in the final."
Wembanyama is already late to the party, as France toppled Team USA in the 2021 Olympics group stage not long ago. But, Wembanyama does have his sights set higher — not just beating the U.S., but beating the U.S. when the stakes are highest and the entire world is watching. And he wants to do it on his home floor.
The soon-to-be No. 1 pick will have several high-profile teammates on the French National Team, most notably Rudy Gobert and Nic Batum. He will also be spending the early part of his NBA career under the tutelage of former French superstar and Spurs legend Tony Parker.
Team USA has felt particularly vulnerable in recent years. Players don't seem to care the way they used to and habits that win in the NBA don't always translate to the international game. Wembanyama is a bonafide superstar in the making. If anyone is capable of putting the U.S. on high alert, it's him.
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