Victor Wembanyama's Bold Statement After Spurs Get 1st Pick In NBA Draft

Victor Wembanyama spoke to Brian Windhorst of ESPN after the San Antonio Spurs were announced as the team with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

On Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets are facing off at Ball Arena in Colorado for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.      

Before the game began, the NBA Draft Lottery took place in Chicago, Illinois, on ESPN. 

The San Antonio Spurs have officially been named as the team with the first pick, which means they will likely draft Victor Wembanyama.     

The Spurs have won the 2023 NBA draft lottery and the opportunity to draft Victor Wembanyama ‼️ pic.twitter.com/pEUXLv3lEl

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 17, 2023

ESPN's Brian Windhorst was in Paris, France, to interview the 19-year-old following the news. 

Windhorst: "There's American fans and NBA fans across the world that are still learning about you. What is the NBA? What are the San Antonio Spurs getting with Victor Wembanyama?"

Wembanyama: "A team player, I'm gonna make everything to win as many games as I can. I'm trying to win a ring ASAP, so be ready."

Victor Wembanyama speaks after the NBA Draft Lottery 👀 pic.twitter.com/n01GpAUTrE

— Backcourt Alerts (@BackcourtAlerts) May 17, 2023

He is considered to be one of the best prospects in the history of the NBA and will likely be able to help the Spurs turn around their franchise in a significant way (they finished as the 15th seed in the Western Conference with a 22-60 record). 

"This is the most highly-anticipated player to ever enter the NBA. ... Maybe the greatest prospect in the history of team sports."

—@wojespn on Victor Wembanyama 😳 (via NBA Today) pic.twitter.com/LNuOG2RdHR

— ESPN (@espn) May 16, 2023

If the Spurs ultimately select Wembanyama, he will join Hall of Famers David Robison and Tim Duncan as centers to be drafted by the franchise with the top pick.  

The Spurs will have the No. 1 pick for the 3rd time. The other two players they took? Tim Duncan and David Robinson pic.twitter.com/viE4iD4jfz

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 17, 2023

While the Spurs have struggled over the last few seasons, they have won five NBA Championships and been to the NBA Finals six times during Gregg Popovich's tenure as head coach.