PARIS (AP) — Hours before discovering his potential NBA destination, Victor Wimpanyama drew a star-studded crowd at his final regular season game in France and delivered another game-winning performance in the fourth quarter.
Soccer superstar Kylian Mbappe and famous French actor Omar Sy were on hand to watch Wimbanyama collect 22 points to beat Boulogne-Levalois 93-85 in a local derby against Paris Basketball. Then, the 19-year-old French phenom — and much of the basketball world — turned their attention to NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago later Tuesday. A winning team would almost certainly make Wimpanyama the first pick in the draft in June.
And Wimpanyama showed a hint of why he scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter, as the crowd of about 4,000 chanted “Wimpy, Wimpy” as he turned it in late after a slow start.
“It looked a little early, maybe in the lottery,” Metropolitans 92 coach Vincent Collett said. “But he responded well. … He’s 19 and his life is going to change completely. Can you understand that? Tonight is a big moment in his career. It’s quite understandable that things were going on in his head.”
Wimpanyama treated the crowd to a late one-handed dunk, then repeatedly nodded in appreciation.
One fan responded by bowing with his hands outstretched when another doused with his hands just six seconds earlier made the teenager game scorer.
Wimpey clenched his fist, yelled at the final buzzer and then hugged his team mates as the crowd rose to give Ligue 1’s top scorer a standing ovation at the Palais des Sports Marcel Cerdan.
Then, the 7-foot-3 Wembanyama performed with a group of honorable fans — or quiet, really, given his massive height — and signed autographs.
Wimpanyama still has his eyes set on the Ligue 1 playoffs – starting this weekend – before he can fully set his sights on the NBA. But the French fans are taking every opportunity to see him as often as they can, knowing that a similar talent is unlikely to appear soon.
“I think he’s going to be a celebrity,” said Paris basketball coach Will Weaver, a former assistant with the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers. “I coached Kevin Durant, Jarrett Allen. I’ve been around a lot of good big guys who have a lot of unique skills. I just see his professionalism and his competitiveness.”
Mbappe, the star of the World Cup in France, is a huge fan of basketball and Arrived in time – About 30 seconds before the game starts – to watch another prolific scorer in action.
Although it wasn’t an old “Wemby” show early on.
He had a bad run early on and seemed a little nervous at times, perhaps because of the occasion. He pointed to his forearm and said, “What’s not!” (“Not at all!”) when the arbitral award has not been given its way. He bowed and then shook his head when he missed a three-pointer late in the first quarter.
During one of the breaks at the start of the second quarter, the camera crew on the opposite side raced to meet Mbappe, who was seated in the same row as Wimpanyama’s parents and close to C. Mbappe was still snapping seconds before the start of the third quarter and threatening to steal the spotlight.
But then “Wimpy” Show again Which was the main attraction, who took over the fourth quarter.
Collet, who also coaches France, said he would stay up late to watch the lottery with Wimpanyama.
He said, “Tonight he will know his destination.” “I think the team that has the first choice won’t make a mistake.”
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