Well, we are just one day out from watching the number one overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and one of the most hyped basketball prospects of this decade square off in his first NBA-style game. The San Antonio Spurs championed by Victor Wembanyama will be facing off against Brandon Miller‘s Charlotte Hornets in the Summer League on Friday 8th of July at 6:30 AM IST.
Michelle Beadle: “Take us through choosing [your jersey number].”
Wembanyama: “It’s a mentality… There’s no other option but to be number 1. I can’t accept to be behind someone in some way.”
Victor wants nothing but to be the best 👀
(via @spurs)pic.twitter.com/X7ZUVzvxEe
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) July 5, 2023
Wemby of course will be donning the Spurs jersey and recently the number he will wear for a significant amount of his career was revealed. Wemby chose the number 1, as he believes it aligns with his mindset, which is to be the best and the number one at anything he undertakes.
He was quoted saying “It’s really a mentality you know, number one cause for me there’s no other option than to be number one you know, I can’t accept to be behind someone in some way you know, and not being the best you know?”
Victor’s mentality here will aid him for years to come in the league, as it’s a well-known fact that part of being a successful NBA player is having a killer mindset and the will to win.
There are players in the league that have talent for days but don’t have the ability to put in maximum effort or the willpower to stay strong in clutch situations. Wembanyama projects to be a winner from day one and it’s an encouraging sight not just for Spurs fans but fans of the entire league.
Victor Wembanyama’s first Summer League game is sold out
Summer League games are historically more of a social affair rather than a serious display of professional basketball. Often games are not very exciting and the viewership is paltry compared to NBA games.
The games are also disregarded for their competitive nature because the rookies are only players against other rookies or lower-tier NBA players. However, Victor Wembanyama’s first game against the Charlotte Hornets has broken league records for sales.
In the history of the Summer League dating back to 2004, tickets to a game have only been sold out once and that was in 2019 during Zion Williamson‘s debut game for the summer. Williamson was the periodic “best prospect since LeBron James” but to his credit, he was a showstopper, with his acrobatic dunks and powerful finishes so it makes perfect sense that Williamson’s crowd was sold out as well.
Well, Victor Wembanyama has pulled off the same impressive feat 4 years later, with tickets to get into Las Vegas starting at $186 and ranging to $617 to watch him move like magic courtside. For reference, an average non-Victor Wembanayama game seat goes for about $50.