Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92’s Victor Wembanyama, left, drives as NBA G League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson defends during the second half of an exhibition basketball game Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, in Henderson, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92’s Victor Wembanyama, left, drives as NBA G League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson defends during the second half of an exhibition basketball game Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, in Henderson, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher) | AP

By Ryan McDonald

It lived up to the hype.

On Tuesday night, the first of two much-anticipated exhibition games took place near Las Vegas featuring the almost surefire top two picks in next year’s NBA draft, French do-it-all center Victor Wembanyama of Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 and American guard Scoot Henderson of G League Ignite.

To say that Wembanyama and Henderson delivered on what was a huge stage (the game was televised on ESPN2 and between 120 and 150 NBA executives were expected to be in attendance) would be an understatement.

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Both players were remarkable. Wembanyama finished with 37 points (including seven 3-pointers), five blocks and four rebounds, and Henderson scored 28 points with nine assists and five rebounds.

G League Ignite won, 122-115, with the second game of the series set for Thursday afternoon.

The Utah Jazz, of course, are widely expected to miss the playoffs this season and thus get a lottery pick. As Tuesday’s game was being played, many people took to Twitter to express thoughts about Wembanyama or Henderson being on the team next season.

Here is some of that Twitter reaction.