On Tuesday, the NBA announced the list of 78 players who will take part in the 2023 NBA draft combine, which will be held from May 15-21 in Chicago.
Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five games, shooting and strength tests and agility drills as NBA general managers, head coaches and scouts observe.
One prominent name left off the list was French basketball star Victor Wembanyama, whom many have projected to be the second coming of Lakers superstar LeBron James.
The 19-year-old will still be playing games in his French league and cannot break away from his commitment to attend the NBA’s combine or its draft lottery show on May 16, which is when teams find out who wins the right to draft the 7-foot-4 forward/center.
If selected No. 1 overall, he would be the sixth player in history to be a top pick without having played basketball at the NCAA level.
“Everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years, but (Wembanyama) is more like an alien,” the Los Angeles superstar said in October 2022. “I’ve never seen, no one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on the floor. At 7-4, 7-5, 7-3, whatever the case may be, his ability to put the ball on the floor, shoot step-back jumpers out of the post, step-back 3s, catch-and-shoot 3s, block shots, he’s for sure a generational talent.”
LeBron's high praise for Victor Wembanyama: "Everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years, but he’s more like an alien." pic.twitter.com/LgLellmp34
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 6, 2022
The Houston Rockets are one of the teams hoping that luck swings their way and land the opportunity to select Wembanyama, who is averaging 21.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game this season. Those numbers all lead France’s LNB Pro A League.
Houston has a 14% chance of landing the top 2023 pick, matching the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons.
Should the Rockets fail to secure the top pick, other leading prospects will be in attendance at the pre-draft combine. One of those is Alabama forward Brandon Miller, who declared for the NBA after winning the SEC Player, Rookie and Freshman of the Year Awards this season. Scoot Henderson, a highly touted point guard with the G League Ignite, is also on the list of 2023 combine attendees.
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