Victor Vembanyama and Brandon Miller | Photo: AP Photo/John Locher
Last night, this year’s Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, the number one pick in the NBA draft, made his debut as part of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA), who played in the NBA Summer League match. It should be noted that the “Thomas & Mack Center” arena, which has 19,000 seats, was sold out.
The 19-year-old player had nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and five blocks while committing three fouls in a 76-68 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Vembanyama made only 2 of 13 shots from the field in 27 minutes.
It is significant that in one of the episodes of the game Vembanyama over overcharged “Hornets” center Kai Jones, who did not meet the Frenchman’s resistance under the basket. In total, Jones had seven points and ten rebounds in the game.
Meanwhile, Brandon Miller, the second pick in this year’s draft, unlike Vembanyama, was the leading scorer on his team. The American stood out with a double-double in 31 minutes and four seconds, namely 16 points, 11 rebounds and one assist.
The top 2 picks went head to head tonight:
Wemby: 9 PTS | 8 REB | 5 BLK
Miller: 16 PTS | 11 REB | 1 BLK
Future is bright ???? pic.twitter.com/n6BF7F8JR9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 8, 2023
No. 1 vs. No. 2 ????
Brandon Miller locked up Wemby on this possession ???? pic.twitter.com/nHTY39WwGG
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 8, 2023
It has already been announced that the NBA draft took place on the night of June 23 Latvian time. As previously expected, the 19-year-old Vembanyama was selected by Spurs with the number one pick. The Charlotte Hornets selected University of Alabama freshman Brandon Miller with the second overall pick, and the Portland Trail Blazers selected Scott Henderson of NBA G League Ignite NBA G League Ignite with the third overall pick. Vembanyama is the third number one pick in the history of “Spurs” and the first since Tim Duncan in 1997, who contributed to the acquisition of five NBA championship titles until 2014.
