Most San Antonio Spurs fans remember exactly where they were this past May 16. Following Wednesday's victory at the Detroit Pistons, Victor Wembanyama had a chance to reflect on his NBA Draft night.
“I'm glad it is how it is,” Wembanyama revealed after his team's 130-108 win against one of the two other squads that featured the best odds of landing him in the off-season.
When the Pistons placard came up in NBA Deputy Commissioner and COO Mark Tatum's hands last spring, it proved the first significant moment of the 2023 Draft Lottery. At 17-65, Detroit finished with the league's worst record and, like the Spurs and Houston Rockets, had a 14 percent chance of winning the first overall pick.
“I remember that my attitude at the time was to think that it didn't matter where I went,” Wemby recalled after he recorded the league's second fastest ever triple double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in 21 minutes.
“After the lottery, I admitted to myself it did matter and it happened in the best way possible,” the top pick bluntly stated.
What could have been for Wembanyama
Following a victory that snapped the Spurs five game losing streak, Wembanyama admitted the thought of playing for the Pistons did cross his mind leading up to mid May, albeit in a very general sense.
“I studied every team in the lottery, even the ones that had a point five percent chance to get the first pick so, yeah, it was a team I'd been looking at,” Wembanyama said. “Not any secret or anything (like that), just as much as a Piston fan probably.”
It did not cross Wemby's mind that he was impressing in the city where he could've played the majority of his games had the lottery shaken out differently.
“I didn't,” Wembanyama answered, “I had other things to think about but now that you say it. Yeah, it's weird to imagine the different futures and what could have been.”
Wembanyama shines vs. Pistons
Regardless of the draft results, Wemby made himself right at home in Detroit on Wednesday.
In nearly matching Russell Westbrook's fastest triple double mark, falling short by one minute, Wembanyama made several plays that, themselves, were highlight worthy.
In the first quarter, he threw a pass of which playoff bound Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff would be proud. Standing almost underneath his basket, the Spurs leading scorer on the season hit Jeremy Sochan in stride at the free throw line on the other end for an easy lay up.
There was another assist that stood out though. Especially to Wemby.
“My favorite was the one between the legs.”
The 7'4 phenom cleanly bounced a pass through Bojan Bogdanovic's legs. On the other end of the ‘nutmeg,' Julian Champagnie converted his only two points of the night.
It was yet another singular moment to remind Detroit fans of what almost was. Even if Wembanyama would rather not think about it.
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