SAN ANTONIO — The future is bright for the San Antonio Spurs after winning the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery and the right to select French big man, Victor Wembanyama.
Wembanyama is considered a franchise-altering player and with him in San Antonio, the Spurs will soon have some very successful seasons ahead.
All that is left is for the Spurs to turn in their pick and NBA Commissioner to announce Wembanyama's name Thursday night in New York City at the NBA Draft.
But for how long with Wembanyama be a Spur?
According to ESPN's Keyshawn Johnson, don't expect Wembanyama to be in San Antonio past five years as he'll eventually join the Lakers.
In an episode of "Keyshawn, JWill and Max" on ESPN Radio, Johnson was reacting to Wembanyama heading to the Spurs.
During the conversation, Johnson, a noted Lakers fan, chimed in to say San Antonio is merely a pit stop for Wembanyama to learn the NBA game and will ultimately leave the Spurs for the West Coast and join the purple and gold.
"Wembanyama is going to be brought up to speed with the Spurs before he becomes a Laker in the next five years," Johnson said. "So, that's how I am kind of how I am looking at it."
Johnson pointed to how great NBA big men left their respective teams for the Lakers.
Notably, how Shaquille O'Neal and Anthony Davis departed from Orlando and New Orleans respectively to leave for Los Angeles.
"In the end, he'll have a purple and gold on because you know we target guys. We specifically look for certain guys," Johnson said. "That's what we do."
Throughout the lead-up to the Draft Lottery, Wembanyama stated he did not have a preferred team however when the Spurs were announced at the No. 1 spot, the 19-year-old knew he was destined for San Antonio and is thrilled to be carrying on the French legacy with the Spurs.
Both Boris Diaw and Tony Parker are considered two of the greatest French players to come to the NBA and wear the Spurs jersey. The Spurs also remain popular in France because of the other players from the country wearing silver and black like Ian Mahinmi and Nando DeColo.
“There’s a special relationship between France and the Spurs because of Tony, of course, because of Boris [Diaw],” Wembanyama told the NBA. “I know half of the country maybe, if not the whole country, wanted the Spurs to have the first pick.”
With the Spurs in a position to make Wembanyama the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, the team will have to get to work to build a winning roster around him and keep him in San Antonio for his entire NBA career.
"I'm trying to win a ring ASAP. Be ready," Wembanyama told ESPN after the NBA Lottery.
"Hopefully we can build on this and continue to build out the core. Put a team together that can really grow together over the next few years," Spurs General Manager Brian Wright said.
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