“Victor Wembanyama Might Add $500 Million to the Franchise”: ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski Reveals the Real Reason Teams are Salivating for the Frenchman

Drafting Victor Wembanyama could be beneficial for the lucky franchise beyond the stats and the winning record.

Saying that Victor Wembanyama was impressive in the two games against the G-League Ignite, would be a massive understatement. Going head-to-head against fellow top prospect Scoot Henderson, the French youngster had the NBA community going all gaga over him.

After putting up a sensational 37 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 blocks performance in the first exhibition game, the 18-year-old somehow managed to improve in the next clash. Helping the Metropolitans 92 grab a 112-106 win, the projected #1 pick of the 2023 draft went on to record 36 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, and 1 steal on an efficient 45.8% shooting from the field and 75% from the charity stripe.

During the 37 minutes of playing time Victor got last night, he even channelized his inner Stephen Curry and knocked down a couple of bizarre three-pointers.

Also Read: 7’4 Victor Wembanyama Shoe Size is Smaller Than 7’1 Shaquille O’Neal and Two Other NBA Players

“Victor Wembanyama is the singular greatest prospect in NBA Draft history”: Adrian Wojnarowski

Over the past few days, there have been numerous analysts, enthusiasts, and even current NBA stars such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant have been gushing over the 7-foot-4 prodigy. However, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski probably disclosed the major reason behind all the franchises’ interest in him.

Apart from calling “the singular greatest prospect in NBA Draft history”, Woj disclosed that one team President spoke about Victor’s impact on an organization in terms of their monetary value. Further stating that the upcoming season could be a “race to the bottom”, the ESPN insider said:

“Victor Wembanyama is the singular greatest prospect in NBA Draft history. He’s that at 18 years old, he was also that at 17 and at 16. He’s not coming out of nowhere. The impact he’s going to have on the NBA this season is dramatic. As one GM told me the other day we are going to race to the bottom like we’ve never seen before in the NBA. Teams trying to put themselves in position to draft Wembanyama, or get the second pick and get Scoot Henderson, who in any other year would be the No. 1 overall pick.

But one team President said to me, drafting Wembanyama might add as much as $500 million to the value of your franchise. At 7-foot-4, 7’5″ in shoes, he’s so advanced skillwise, there’s just never been anyone like him.

The level of tanking we may see in the NBA this year… you may see more player be available earlier in the season as teams don’t want to be in a position to be winning… that has an impact for contenders… Victor Wembanyama is going to really impact the league before he plays a minute in it.”

Adam Silver doesn’t want teams tanking for Wembanyama

There is no doubt that all teams would love to add Victor to their roster in the next draft. We’ve seen such incidents occur before as well, where franchises tank in order to get a better chance of receiving the #1 pick. However, even before the season has commenced, commissioner Adam Silver has made it pretty clear that teams must not do so. During the press conference before the Atlanta Hawks-Milwaukee Bucks preseason clash at Abu Dhabi, Silver gave out a stern warning:

“I know that many of our NBA teams are salivating at the notion that potentially through our lottery, they can get him, so they should all still compete very hard next season.”

To be honest, a player like the Frenchman has all the tools required to be a long-time great in the association. Even though Silver has issued a stern warning, we might get to see a few teams not perform up to the mark intentionally.

Also Read: LeBron James Likes What he saw From the 7’4” Frenchman’s Game