NBA Commissioner Adam Silver insists teams will be “in the loop” to tank for Victor Wembanyama
Released: 6:55 p.m. EDT, Oct. 22, 2022 | Updated: 07:32 EDT, October 23, 2022
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has announced that NBA teams will be “notified” ahead of a possible race for last place in the league in hopes of winning over French phenomenon Victor Wembanyama.
Organizations that don’t have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs are expected to delve deep into the draft lottery for a shot at the likely No. 1 pick in 2023.
Aware of this reality, Silver and the league told Phoenix Suns staffers via ESPN, “We’re going to be paying special attention to this issue this year.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league will monitor the tanking situation
“We’ve notified the teams,” Silver told employees. “We will pay special attention to this topic this year.”
“None of us can remember going into a season where there was perceived so much competition, but still the goal is to have 30 competitive teams,” said Silver.
“Not 20, or whatever it is, so guess we’re looking at the dilution factor.”
Realizing that tanking was an issue plaguing the league, the NBA changed the lottery draft in 2019.
Before the move, the teams finishing last, second to last, and third to bottom had a 25 percent, 19.9 percent, and 15.6 percent chance of the first pick, respectively.
Victor Wembanyama has been the most hyped since LeBron James and Zion Williamson
Now, those teams each have a 14 percent chance of receiving the potentially franchise-changing pick.
“That’s something we have to watch out for,” Silver said of the possibility of refueling in 2022-23.
“In principle, a design is a good system. But I get it, especially when there’s a sense of a one-off player emerging like we’re having this year.
“Teams are smarter, they’re creative, and they’re responsive – we move, they move – so we’re always looking to see if there’s a better system.”
Wembanyama is widely regarded as one of the best draft prospects in living memory, with some even suggesting he’s better than LeBron James, who is from St. Vincent-St. Mary’s is coming.
The six-foot-tall Frenchman starred in two exhibition games against G League Ignite
Wembanyama, who is just 18, will qualify for the 2023 NBA draft — exactly two decades after James was picked first by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“If LeBron James showed up at that exact moment, Victor would go higher than him,” Richard Jefferson, a former teammate of James, said on NBA Today earlier this month.
The Frenchman shocked the NBA world in two show games in early October against G League Ignite, his first appearances on American soil.
In two games, Wembanyama had 73 points on 22 from 44, 15 rebounds, nine blocks and nine threes.
“LeBron James and all the things that we’ve seen – and I’m not saying he’s going to be better than LeBron James – what I’m saying now is that I remember LeBron James 20 years ago,” Jefferson continued.
“This player was two meters tall, this person seven -[foot]-four. LeBron James would be number two if he was exactly the same age in the exact same draft, LeBron James would be number two. That’s how crazy this kid is as a prospect.”
