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NBA: Victor Wembanyama 'immune' to Draft hype

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Mets 92" s="" Victor="" Wembanyama="" reacts="" during="" the="" French="" Elite="" Basketball="" playoffs="" semi="" finals="" game="" match="" between="" Boulogne-Levallois="" Metropolitans="" and="" ASVEL="" Villeurbanne="" in="" May="" Christophe="" Petit="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/06/21/20230621-victor.jpg"/><figcaption>Mets 92&#x27;s Victor Wembanyama reacts during the French Elite Basketball playoffs semi finals 2nd game match between Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 and ASVEL Villeurbanne in Paris, France, May 30, 2023. Christophe Petit Tesson, EPA-EFE.</figcaption></figure></div>NEW YORK - Victor Wembanyama dismissed the soaring hype swirling around him on Wednesday as he prepares to become the most sought-after No.1 pick in the NBA draft since LeBron James.The 19-year-old French talent is a lock to be chosen by the San Antonio Spurs in Thursday&#x27;s NBA Draft in New York, widely viewed as a once-in-a-generation talent capable of transforming a franchise.The 7ft 4in (2.24m) Wembanyama arrived in the United States on Monday to be greeted by autograph hunters and San Antonio fans as excitement builds ahead of the Draft.In packed a pre-draft press conference on Wednesday, Wembanyama told reporters he was unfazed by the attention which has accompanied his entry to the NBA.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/22/23/all-eyes-on-game-changer-wembanyama-at-nba-draft">All eyes on &#x27;game-changer&#x27; Wembanyama at NBA Draft</a></li></ul>&quot;I don&#x27;t let all this stuff get to my head because I have such great expectations for myself that I&#x27;m immune to all this stuff,&quot; Wembanyama told reporters. &quot;I really don&#x27;t care.&quot;San Antonio erupted in celebrations last month when the Spurs won the NBA&#x27;s lottery for the first pick, billed as the &quot;Wembanyama sweepstakes&quot;.For Wembanyama, being chosen with the No.1 selection on Thursday will be the realization of a lifelong dream.&quot;Ever since I knew about the draft, exactly how it worked, I wanted to be first,&quot; Wembanyama said.&quot;Tomorrow something&#x27;s going to happen that I&#x27;ve been thinking of for years.&quot;I&#x27;m going to have trouble sleeping tonight for sure. I just feel really really lucky.&quot;Wembanyama is also looking forward to getting down to work with San Antonio, where he will follow in footsteps of France&#x27;s four-time NBA champion Tony Parker under the guidance of revered coach Gregg Popovich.&quot;For me, San Antonio is a synonym for winning,&quot; Wembanyama said.&quot;On lottery night, when the Spurs got the number one pick I was just thinking that I was being lucky that they got the pick because of their culture and their experience in creating, making good players.&quot;So I really can&#x27;t wait.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/21/23/legendary-coach-pop-to-oversee-wembanyamas-nba-start">Legendary &#x27;Coach Pop&#x27; to oversee Wembanyama&#x27;s NBA start</a></li></ul><div>&#x27;WANT TO BE THE BEST&#x27;</div>NBA officials say Wembanyama has the potential to be a &quot;game-changer&quot; for the league, noting that his arrival has already driven spikes on the league&#x27;s streaming platforms and social media channels.Wembanyama said Wednesday he is embracing the challenge of delivering both on and off the court.&quot;I&#x27;m trying to be the best,&quot; he said. &quot;Being the best is not only on the court. There&#x27;s all dimensions in the job of an NBA basketball player.&quot;I want to be the best also with the media, the press conference and all this stuff. I don&#x27;t like to do things halfway.&quot;Wembanyama meanwhile confirmed that he plans to make his first appearance in a Spurs uniform during the NBA&#x27;s Summer League pre-season events.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/21/23/nba-draft-prodigy-wembanyama-set-for-commercial-bonanza">NBA Draft prodigy Wembanyama set for commercial bonanza</a></li></ul>&quot;I&#x27;m going to be playing the Summer League,&quot; Wembanyama said.It is not clear whether Wembanyama will play in the Summer League games in Sacramento, starting on July 3, or the Las Vegas tournament held from July 7-17.Wembanyama also said he hoped to play for France in the World Cup taking place in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia from August 25 to September 10.&quot;There&#x27;s time between the Summer League and the World Cup,&quot; Wembanyama said. &quot;It&#x27;s still my plan to make the World Cup. I&#x27;m waiting to agree with my franchise.&quot;Wembanyama said he had continued training since the French basketball season ended last week with his Metropolitans 92 team suffering a 3-0 series defeat to Monaco.&quot;Ever since last season ended, like a week ago, I&#x27;ve been staying in shape,&quot; Wembanyama said.&quot;I&#x27;ve been lifting pretty much every day except for the day when I traveled. I was lifting this morning with my coach. I&#x27;m not too tired.&quot;I actually I was pretty much in the best shape of the season.&quot;© Agence France-Presse<div>RELATED VIDEO</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E76VcLXCW4Q?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The 19-year-old French talent is a lock to be chosen by the San Antonio Spurs in Thursday's NBA Draft in New York.