Victor Wembanyama NBA Draft lottery destinations, ranked by how ...

At minimum, Victor Wembanyama is the best prospect to enter the NBA Draft since LeBron James in 2003. In reality, there’s the case to be made that Wembanyama is the greatest prospect in the history of the sport: no one has ever been this tall (reportedly 7’5 in shoes), this long (8-foot wingspan), this fluid, and this skilled at this size before. The fact that Wembanyama has spent his pre-draft year dominating the top French pro league at just 19 years old has only cemented that generational doesn’t even capture it — this prospect really is once in a lifetime.

We’ll finally learn where Wembanyama will start his stateside career on Tuesday night during the 2023 NBA draft lottery. The 14 teams who didn’t make the playoffs all have a chance to land him, with the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs each owning the best odds to get the No. 1 pick at 14 percent.

Every team wants Wembanayma. What would be the best destination for him? We decided to rank the lottery teams based on the following factors:

1. Culture. How much can we trust this organization to help Wembanyama reach his potential?
2. Room to grow. Where can Wembanyama be afforded the space and patience to test the limits of his game?
3. Young talent on the roster. This one is self-explanatory. We’re putting an extra emphasis on great passers here, because Wemby could be a historically good play-finisher if he’s surrounded by skilled facilitators.
4. Quality of basketball city. Wemby deserves to grow up in front of a dedicated fanbase with a history of strongly supporting the franchise.

Remember: these rankings are done by science and cannot be argued with.

Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images

14. Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs already landed a generational superstar, and how has that gone? Luka Doncic is so ball-dominant that Wembanyama may not have the oxygen to fully develop his game in that pairing. I want those two going against each other for the next 15 years, not playing on the same team. I’m also giving the Mavericks a zero in culture. Good things should not come for those who tanked so transparently to end the season.

13. Houston Rockets

The Rockets probably had the worst vibes in the league this past season. Hiring head coach Ime Udoka and all the baggage that comes with him is not exactly a guarantee to clean that up. If Houston wins the lottery, James Harden probably signs here as a free agent and makes things a little uncomfortable for Wemby. Tilman Fertitta does not deserve nice things.

12. Washington Wizards

The Wizards are just a bummer of a franchise. It would be cool to see a long-tortured fanbase finally hit it big in the lottery, but it’s hard to feel confident in their ability to put the proper infrastructure around Wembanyama to allow him to reach his potential.

11. Orlando Magic

The Magic landed the No. 1 overall pick in consecutive years in the lottery once already, when they won the rights to Shaq and then Chris Webber (who they traded for Penny Hardaway) back in the early ‘90s. Orlando’s future is already super exciting with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner leading the way. Adding Wemby would be incredible, but the lack of shooting on the roster makes it feel like a bit of a weird spot for him. We cannot reduce Wemby to a floor spacer!

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10. New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans won the No. 1 pick in the last draft with the best prospect since LeBron. Zion Williamson’s career has been a drag to this point, but he’s an All-NBA caliber talent when he’s healthy. As fun as the Zion x Wemby combination is, it would put immense pressure on both players. New Orleans is one of my favorite cities in the country, but having it as the center of the NBA universe just doesn’t feel right.

9. Indiana Pacers

The atmosphere at Pacers games is non-existent. Indiana finished No. 29 in the league in attendance last year. The pairing with a genius IQ point guard like Tyrese Haliburton would be super fun, but that’s about it. This is an Indiana Fever town anyway, shout-out to Aliyah Boston.

8. Utah Jazz

The Jazz are mostly starting from scratch and building around Lauri Markkanen. It would be cool to see Wembanyama test the outer limits of his skill set in that type of environment, but something about this landing spot doesn’t sit right. We’ve seen the French Giant Goes to Utah thing before, and it wasn’t always cute.

7. Detroit Pistons

I’ve already detailed why I’m way in on the Pistons. Jaden Ivey closed his rookie season on a tear, Jalen Duren looks like a boss rim protector and lob threat, and I still believe in Cade Cunningham’s All-NBA potential. There are still a couple issues here: the spacing with this team isn’t great, the young core features more scorers than facilitators, and they don’t have a head coach at the moment. I’m not totally sold on this being the destination that gets Wembanyama to his max potential.

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6. Oklahoma City Thunder

Oklahoma City really might have the best young core in the league. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a certified superstar, Josh Giddey is a jumbo playmaking guard who is already a solid starter at 20 years old, Jalen Williams was one of this season’s best rookies, and Chet Holmgren should be an incredible two-way big man down the line. We could be looking at a dynasty here with Wembanyama — of course, the same could be said when the Thunder had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden, and won zero championships. The Thunder were dead-last in attendance this year despite having an ascendent young team. Maybe I’m still salty about the Sonics, but I can’t get behind an OKC superpower when they’re already going to be really good and really fun.

5. Portland Trail Blazers

It would be cool to see Damian Lillard’s commitment to the grind rewarded by getting to play with Wembanyama. The Blazers got a whole lot of nothing out of their bigs last season, so Wemby would have a big role immediately. This is also as passionate fanbase that deeply loves the team. At the same time, this franchise had Sam Bowie, Greg Oden, and Brandon Roy all ruined by injuries. Do we really trust Portland to keep him wealthy?

4. Charlotte Hornets

The biggest benefit of Wembanyama to Charlotte would be his pairing with LaMelo Ball. Ball quietly turned into a high-volume three-point shooter this past season, and he’s already one of the league’s most creative and thrilling passers. I’ll also give the Hornets some credit for keeping Miles Bridges away from the team all last season after horrifying domestic abuse allegations. There just ... isn’t a lot of history here or much talent on the roster outside of Ball. With new ownership potentially coming in, the future of the franchise feels pretty uncertain. Wembanyama would certainly have a lot of room to spread his wings in Charlotte, that’s for sure.

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3. Toronto Raptors

Toronto is the world’s most multicultural city, so it would be cool to see a French superstar as the new centerpiece of the franchise’s post-Nick Nurse era. Raptors fans absolutely go hard as hell, and would foster a great environment to watch Wembanyama reach his peak. I trust Masai Ujiri with his development. More than anything, Wemby to the Raptors would beg the question ‘what if a 6’9 guy was 7’5?’ This seems like a good fit all the way around.

2. San Antonio Spurs

Okay, this is an incredible quote.

The Spurs famously won the lottery for both David Robinson and Tim Duncan, and after five championships, it’s safe to say they aced the development of both. San Antonio has of course had plenty of international stars through the years, including Tony Parker and Boris Diaw from France. It’s hard to say how many years Coach Pop has left at 74 years old, but leaving the franchise with one more superstar big man would be a pretty great story. The Spurs have some nice young players on the roster, but Wemby would still have a lot of room to grow there. This just seems too good to be true.

1. Chicago Bulls

Sure, the Bulls have horrible ownership, a long history giving their best players chronic injury problems, and a weak base of young talent. They also own barely any future draft picks, have no cap space, and a roster that feels maxed out at slightly below average.

Counterpoint: Screw these rankings. I am a Bulls fan, and I want to watch Wemby up close. You can’t argue with science.