Considered a generational talent and big favorite to be chosen number one in the next Draft, Victor Wembanyama could well change the fate of the franchise which will select him next June. However, the tanking race has been less crazy than expected this season, and obviously some leaders are sorry.
Before the start of the 2022-23 season, a frantic tanking race was announced in order to recover Wemby, the best all-time prospect according to specialists and other Hexperts in the orange ball. But in the end, we didn’t see that many tanks.
Only three teams will indeed finish below the 25-win mark this seasonthree teams expected more or less at the bottom of the standings: San Antonio (20 wins – 58 losses), Houston (19-60) and Detroit (16-62). Some franchises have even surprised through their results, such as Indiana, Orlando, Utah and Oklahoma City, which all have between 34 and 38 wins with one week to go. How to explain that? Perhaps the play-in tournament effect, or it is the new Lottery system implemented a few years ago to fight against tanking which shows its effectiveness.
Still, some NBA executives seem to regret not losing more games to boost their chances of getting Wemby in the Draft. One in particular (via ESPN).
“Honestly, I would have preferred that we didn’t win so many games this season. We’re all going to regret not tanking every game to get this guy.”
A declaration which falls just after the last madness carried out by Victor Wembanyama this weekend in Monaco. For those who haven’t seen the action, Wemby pulled off a putback dunk on… his own 3-point shot, the kind of unlikely action reserved for basketball aliens.
Breaking down the key moments in Victor Wembanyama’s absurd stepback putback and what they tell us about him as a player, with the help of four NBA scouts and Roger Powell, the original 3-point putback artist.
STORY: https://t.co/zrI4O2GdJV pic.twitter.com/KYy8XIXNwe
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 4, 2023
Inevitably, seeing this kind of thing, there is something to have some regrets.
Obviously, the identity of the leader in question has not been revealed, but we know all the same that it is of a Western Conference leader according ESPN. Maybe it comes from Jazz, which we were just waiting for in tanking mode after the departures of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Perhaps from Portland, which played a postseason spot for a long time before taking out the tank. Even Oklahoma City, a specialist in the discipline in recent seasons but author of a beautiful and surprising 2022-23 campaign.
We let you make your predictions, but one thing is certain: Victor Wembanyama has not finished turning heads.
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Source texte : ESPN