Victor Wembanyama ‘tanking’ sweepstakes gives Detroit Pistons best chance to land generational talent

CHICAGO – The Detroit Pistons have reached their “tanking” plateau and punched their ticket among the favorites to land the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft lottery and select generational talent Victor Wembanyama (Wemby).

For all intents and purposes, the Pistons finished with the worst record (17-65) in the association, which would’ve sown up the most ping-pong balls in years past.

But, due to the new tanking rules, the worst three teams, which include the Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, and the Houston Rockets, now have the same percentage chance of selecting the 19-year-old unicorn.

For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past two years, Wemby is a 7′2″ (8′0″ Wingspan) 229-pound center, which draws comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Dirk Nowitzki with a Kevin Durant-like handle and jumper.

Wemby has been considered one of the greatest prospects ever to enter the draft, as the hype around his decision to turn pro reached levels of Shaquille O’Neal in 1992 and Lebron James in 2003.

“He reminds me of a unicorn,” said James. “He’s more like an alien. He’s growing up now watching KD, seeing Steph and Giannis, and saying, ‘Because I’m 7′3″, I don’t want to just sit in the post. I want to work on my handles three days out of the week, and then the other three days, I want to work on shooting, and I want to work on building my body.’ So he has the ability to see more as people are not putting a cap on what you can become.”

Wemby announced that he was entering his name in the draft in April on ESPNs NBA Today.

“It’s been a great year with so much news for me, but first of all, I want to thank everyone that has been a part of that journey this year and all of the previous years, you know, like my coaches and my family,” said Wemby. “And I’m really excited to announce that I’m going to declare to the 2023 NBA draft, and I hope it’s big news as it is for me.”

Let’s say the ping-pong balls fall in Detroit’s favor. You could be looking at a team circled around Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, James Wiseman, Jalen Duren, and an 8′0″ wingspan Durant-like player with a veteran presence of Bojan Bogdanović and some up-in-coming free agents could put the Pistons back on the map in a significant way.

“With Kevin Durant, he’s the player that I’ve watched the most,” Wemby said. “From the fadeaways to the moving and his shots off the dribble, he really does a good job of just placing his body and going to the right spot. It’s something I discovered over the past couple of years. It’s almost like he’s the only player in the world to do that.”

For a man to have an 8′0″ wingspan and be agile like Kristaps Porziņģis with the grace and skill of Durant, he’s all but surely a real-deal unicorn who would do wonders for the City of Detroit as seats would get filled inside Little Caesars Arena.

“We’ve never seen something like that before,” said Giannis Antetokounmpo. “We’ve got to get ready for this kid.”

“He’s like an NBA 2K created player,” said Steph Curry.

With the Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 in the French LNB Pro A alongside former Michigan Wolverines point guard DeVante Jones, the 19-year-old averaged a double-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds plus over three blocks a game.

“Playing professional basketball in Europe is kind of special because there’s really no expectations,” Wemby said. “I’ve always been the young guy. I realized that if I’m aggressive, they’ve got no way to stop me except to foul.”

From the unicorn’s mouth, inserting himself into the NBA would be a piece of cake as the highest tier of pro basketball is being played in Europe, where he led the league in rebounds and blocks.

“I was born at will to do things differently, and I kept that willpower to not letting coaches put me in a box so I could really express myself in order to perform the way that I want,” Wemby said.

Wembanyama got a look at his potential new team as the Pistons traveled to Paris back in January to take on the Chicago Bulls.

The 19-year-old prodigy caused hysteria before tip-off as he and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver took to center court for a photo op.

The king of French basketball Tony Parker spoke a few words to him. Michigan State Spartans legend Magic Johnson gave Wemby a pound, and Pistons lucky charm Ben Wallace embraced him in front of the hometown fans.

The Pistons and their fans hope Wallace will bring them some much-needed good luck Tuesday night as he will represent the organization in Chicago for the first time since he did it back in 2021 when Detroit won the lottery and selected Cunning at No. 1.

It just so happens that Wallace is not just a lucky charm for the “De-twah,” but Wallace is Wemby’s father’s favorite player, so everything seems to be lining up as a match made in basketball heaven for both parties if the ping-pong balls fall their way.

“My next goal is to be the No. 1 pick,” Wemby said. “I’ve seen French players go to the draft and get drafted, but I never seen a French player be drafted first overall. I think I’ve got a decent chance at doing that.”