The NBA can wait! Projected first-choice Victor Wembanyama propels his club side into the French semi-finals as he refuses to sit back and preserve his 7ft 4in body ahead of next month’s draft
- Wembanyama refused to sit ahead of the draft amid his team’s playoff push
- The 19-year-old had 19 points and nine boards in a decisive series win on Thursday
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Victor Wembanyama’s refusal to sit out ahead of next month’s NBA Draft has helped propel the club’s team from the projected first overall pick to the LNB Pro A semi-finals in France.
The 19-year-old recorded 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocks as Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 beat Cholet, 81-69, in Game 3 of their first-round series. They will now face Wembanyama’s former side ASVEL in a best-of-five series.
That Wembanyama performed well in a post-season game is no surprise. The highly touted 7-foot-4 prospect has averaged 21.6 points per game in the French league this season.
What’s surprising is that Wembanyama is playing at all, rather than preserving his health for next month’s NBA Draft as he is guaranteed to be picked first overall by the San Antonio Spurs.
Former college players preparing for the NBA are done playing meaningful basketball and are instead focusing on private workouts ahead of the June draft.
Wembanyama reacts as Boulogne-Levallois win over Cholet in French qualifiers
French striker Victor Wembanyama (R) of Metropolitan 92 talks to a player from Cholet
NBA players are already noticing Wembanyama, who combines the size of a center with the speed and ball-handling skills of a guard.
‘He is like a [NBA] Player created by 2K, every point guard who wants to be seven foot. Cheat code type vibes,’ Stephen Curry told Wembanyama reporters.
“The league is really in trouble when he arrives,” Kevin Durant said.
He is credited with a full game but the truth is he still needs to develop his outside shot before he can say that.
Wembanyama has made just 27.5% of his 3-point attempts this season while shooting 5.6 per game – a significant sample considering he makes less than a third of his shots from deep.
The good news is that Wembanyama has made 82.8% of his free throws this season, which is a good indicator that he is a natural shooter with the potential to make 3-point shots.
Either way, Wembanyama’s 56.1% clip from inside the arc suggests he can be an effective next-level scorer, with or without a 3-point shot.
Metropolitan 92’s Frenchman Bilal Coulibaly is just 18 but also likely to be selected in the first round
And Wembanyama isn’t the only Metropolitans 92 player on his way to the NBA.
Bilal Coulibaly, a 6ft 6in winger with a wingspan of 7ft 1in has become a contributing role and is expected to be taken in the first round next month.
“He is by far the best defensive winger of his generation in Europe and one of the best in his class this year,” wrote NBADraft.Net’s Stefanos Makris by Coulibaly. ‘Blessed with a great body and a good feel for the game, the French prospect has all the tools needed to become an elite 3-and-D player, but it was the potential that was revealed in the lower level as secondary creator/Shot making wing that intrigues.
“That said, despite all the promise he’s shown, Coulibaly is still an uncertain Spot Up shooter for now, who still has a long way to go as a secondary and creative ball handler.”
