SAN ANTONIO — It is certain that French basketball phenom Victor Wembanyama's name will be the first to be announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver with the San Antonio Spurs holding the No. 1 pick at the 2023 NBA Draft
But before that happens, the Spurs did their medical due diligence ahead of draft night.
According to ESPN's Jonathan Givony, the team's medical staff met with Wembanyama in France and everything checked out well.
"The Spurs dispatched their medical staff to France last week to conduct their due diligence, and with that successfully out of the way, everything looks on track for him to be the No. 1 pick and start restoring the proud franchise to relevance," Givony said.
Wembanyama is the no-brainer pick for the Spurs.
Listed at 7-5, he can shoot the ball from beyond the three-point line, finish at the rim with authority, and can handle the ball like a point guard.
He has freakish athleticism, can run the floor, defend on the perimeter, and is just 19 years old with more room to develop on the court.
He finished the French LNB League regular-season posting 21.6 points per game along with 3.0 blocks, 10.4 rebounds, and 47 percent field goal shooting through 34 games played for the Metropolitans 92. He's also guided them to the French League Finals.
Wembanyama certainly will draw fans to NBA arenas next season and his impact is already being felt with Spurs ticket sales.
Season ticket sales are selling quickly and fans recently lined up to take a look at their seats at the AT&T Center ahead of next season.
He's not even in the NBA and San Antonio businesses and fans are making Wembenyama-inspired food and merchandise in anticipation of his arrival.
"Obviously, we wanted to showcase how excited we were about the Spurs' No. 1 pick and how Wemby immediately changes the fortunes for San Antonio," said San Antonio's Mudslingers Coffee about their new drink inspired by Wembanyama called "The Alien."
"Wemby fever" is absolutely taking over San Antonio.
He is the obvious first pick at the NBA Draft and all that remains is for the Spurs to turn in their pick, see Wembanyama put on the Spurs cap, and help the Spurs climb back to the top of the league.
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5