"I would have chosen San Antonio" - Victor Wembanyama reveals reason for choosing Spurs as his potential NBA draft team

As the 2023 NBA Draft draws near, so too does the arrival of the projected No. 1 overall pick, Victor Wembanyama.

In an interview with JJ Reddick on "The Old Man and The Tree Podcast," Wembanyama spoke about his enthusiasm about the possibility of playing for the San Antonio Spurs.

"Truly, if I had to choose one franchise to get the number one pick, I would have chosen San Antonio," Wembanyama said. "It's just I know and I heard so much about the atmosphere and the culture over there, you know, the winning culture that you know this if I had to choose it would be a no-brainer."

From Wembanyama's perspective, it would be an effortless decision if he was asked to pick a desired NBA team to play for as a rookie. The Spurs make an easy pick from him, as he's knowledgeable of what the organization stands for and the culture behind everything.

The San Antonio Spurs have struggled since Kawhi Leonard's departure. They have not met any success in reaching the postseason or even making some noise in the regular season. Spurs have also traded a number of valuable assets to other teams to get higher draft picks.

During the 2022-23 season, Spurs ranked 29th on offense in the league at 109.7 and 30th on defense at 119.6. They also ended the regular season tied with the Houston Rockets for the second-worst record in the league, with 22 wins and 60 losses.

Their lackluster season paved the way to land the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. After years of struggling to find a proper franchise player, San Antonio can finally acquire a one-of-a-kind talent in Victor Wembanyama.

In the 2022-23 season playing for the Metropolitans 92, Wembanyama averaged 21.6 points per game (47.0% shooting, including 27.5% from the 3-point range) and 10.4 rebounds.

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Looking back on LeBron James' reaction to Victor Wembanyama

LeBron James had an interesting description of the high-draft pick Victor Wembanyama before his impending arrival in the league.

"We’re labeling like this unicorn thing — everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years,” James said. “But he’s more like an alien—no one has seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is on the floor.”

For Wembanyama, James mentioned in a profile from Sports Illustrated that he prefers to be referred to as an alien as opposed to a unicorn. He's striving to become something the league has never seen before.