Victor Wembanyama Is the No. 1 Pick in the NBA Draft, With Expectations of Stardom

Victor Wembanyama (L) poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver during the NBA basketball draft in New York on June 22, 2023. John Minchillo/AP Photo

NEW YORK—Victor Wembanyama was the presumed No. 1 pick for months, the rare certainty in an NBA draft process that’s often a guessing game.

Yet as the clock above the stage he was facing ticked all the way down to zero, butterflies set in.