CLEVELAND, Ohio -The 2023 NBA Draft has a star at the top of the class unlike any to possibly ever enter the league. 7-foot-4 France native Victor Wembanyama is considered by many to be the top prospect in the draft.
He’s considered by many draft experts and NBA personnel to be the best and most hyped player to come into the NBA since LeBron James back in 2003. And on Tuesday night, fans will have a chance to watch him live when his Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 team from Paris takes on G-League Ignite, headlined by another top 2023 draft prospect in Scoot Henderson, in Henderson, Nev. The game starts at 10 p.m. Eastern and will be on ESPN2.
They will play a second time on Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern, also on ESPN2.
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So what is it that makes Wembanyama the runaway favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft?
Consider the fact that he is 7-foot-4 and has a wingspan of nearly 8 feet. But not only is he incredibly tall and rangy, he is also far more mobile and is a better ballhander than players of his size probably should be.
Last season, he played 16 games in the Betclic Elite, the top league of French basketball, as a 17-year-old playing against veteran professionals and averaged 9.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 18.4 minutes. He shot 47.3% from the floor and 26% from 3-point range.
He also played in 13 EuroLeague games last season, averaging 6.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 17.5 minutes.
Three games into this season, Wembanyama is averaging 17.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 blocks in 27.3 minutes. He is shooting 44.9% from the floor and 33.3% from 3 on an average of four attempts per game.
Henderson, meanwhile, is an elite NBA draft prospect in his own right. The 6-foot-2 guard came to G-League Ignite last year as a high school junior and averaged 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 11 games. He also appeared in the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend in Cleveland in February and had two points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
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