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The San Antonio Spurs won the 2023 NBA draft lottery on Tuesday night. In doing so, the Spurs have received the opportunity to draft highly coveted 7'4" French phenom Victor Wembanyama.
The Spurs were one of three teams tied for the top lottery odds (14.0%) to land the projected No. 1 pick, along with the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets. Outside of the Spurs landing the first pick, the Charlotte Hornets landed at the No. 2 spot. Charlotte was followed by the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 3 and the Houston Rockets at No. 4.
Naturally, San Antonio landing the No. 1 pick and the chance to draft a generational big man drew comparisons to their past No. 1 selections. This comes as the Spurs drafted legendary big men David Robinson and Tim Duncan with their No. 1 picks in the 1987 and 1997 NBA drafts respectively.
Following the announcement of the Spurs winning the draft lottery, fans took to Twitter to express their excitement for a new era of San Antonio basketball:
“Spurs got their next Tim Duncan,” one fan said.
“Wooooooow. Pop can’t retire now,” another said.
Meanwhile, fans of other lottery teams expressed their extreme disappointment with missing out on the chance to draft Wembanyama:
“That’s so damn annoying, no one wants to see him on the Spurs,” one fan said.
“Don’t care it’s rigged, Rockets should’ve got (No.) 1,” another fan said.
“Could’ve been Wemby and Melo,” another added.
Here are a few more of the top fan reactions to the San Antonio Spurs landing the No. 1 pick:
San Antonio Spurs managing partner Peter J. Holt reacts to Spurs landing No. 1 pick
Following the reveal that the San Antonio Spurs landed the No. 1 pick, Spurs managing partner Peter J. Holt couldn’t contain his emotions. Holt, who was representing the Spurs at the draft lottery, let out a loud scream.
“Let’s go! Woo! Let’s go!” Holt could be heard yelling.
Holt was then interviewed and was in complete disbelief:
“I might faint,” Holt said.
Guess the Lakers players!
