Victor Wembanyama will make his NBA regular season debut on Wednesday when the San Antonio Spurs host the Dallas Mavericks in their season opener.
The league’s newest phenom — a long-hyped French teen who stands 7 feet, 3 ½ inches tall and doesn’t turn 20 until 4 January — is finally here, after being taken No. 1 by the Spurs in this year’s draft.
The combination of height, reach, skill and smarts has had the NBA drooling for years. The Spurs won 22 games last season — the third-worst season in franchise history — and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. But the only win that really mattered came in a hotel ballroom in Chicago, when four ping-pong balls gave the Spurs victory in the draft lottery and the chance to take Wembanyama No. 1 overall.
The Mavericks will find out what a full season looks like for the All-Star pairing of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Dallas faded and missed the playoffs after the blockbuster trade that brought Irving from Brooklyn as injuries limited his chances together with the Slovenian star. This season starts with an injury question for Doncic: he's battling a left calf strain that might keep him out of the opener.
The league’s newest phenom — a long-hyped French teen who stands 7 feet, 3 ½ inches tall and doesn’t turn 20 until 4 January — is finally here, after being taken No. 1 by the Spurs in this year’s draft.
The combination of height, reach, skill and smarts has had the NBA drooling for years. The Spurs won 22 games last season — the third-worst season in franchise history — and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. But the only win that really mattered came in a hotel ballroom in Chicago, when four ping-pong balls gave the Spurs victory in the draft lottery and the chance to take Wembanyama No. 1 overall.
The Mavericks will find out what a full season looks like for the All-Star pairing of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Dallas faded and missed the playoffs after the blockbuster trade that brought Irving from Brooklyn as injuries limited his chances together with the Slovenian star. This season starts with an injury question for Doncic: he's battling a left calf strain that might keep him out of the opener.
