French basketball sensation Victor Wembanyama vowed to give his all next season to help score a championship win for the San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs selected the 19-year-old French basketball star with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday night.
It was a move that all Spurs fans were eagerly awaiting at the AT&T Center.
Shortly after the Spurs announced their pick, Wembanyama spoke in a press conference and said he is eager to make his mark on the team and in San Antonio.
“My message to (Spurs fans), you know, is I’m going to give 100%. Make all that’s in my power to make this franchise win, to have (an) impact on the franchise and fan base and the community,” Wembanyama said.
The moments leading up to the announcement of the Spurs’ first draft pick gave Wemby butterflies. He said it was the “longest five minutes” of his life.
When his name was called, the French basketball star said it was “a dream come true.”
“One of the best things in my life. Probably the best night of my life,” Wembanyama said. “I’ve been dreaming about this for so long. It’s a dream come true. It’s incredible.”
Wembanyama said he was welcomed with open arms to the team, and he was already handed a Spurs jersey.
“I got called, and I went to the back, and yeah, I was congratulated by a lot of people…,” Wembanyama said. “Someone gave me this (Spurs Jersey). Someone knew this was happening somehow. Just got a lot of love.”
“Wemby,” as he’s often called, is a 7-foot-3-inch gazelle who can run and jump with the greatest of athletes and has shown immense skill playing in the highest levels of European basketball leagues.
He played for the Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 and led the French league in points, rebounds and blocks while leading them to the championship series.
The last time San Antonio won the draft lottery was in 1997 when they used the No. 1 overall pick to select franchise cornerstone and NBA legend Tim Duncan.
When Wembanyama comes to play as a San Antonio Spur, he said he’s going to try to become the best player he can be during his time in the Alamo City.
“My goal is going to be to get closer and closer every time to the ring and to learn how to make it (to the championship).”