Spurs win 2023 NBA Draft lottery odds fallout: Victor Wembanyama early Rookie of Year favorite, proven model projects San Antonio as 30-win team

The biggest winner in the NBA on Tuesday night wasn't the Denver Nuggets, who took a 1-0 lead over the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. It was theSan Antonio Spurs, who won the 2023 draft lottery. By clinching the No. 1 pick, they have a clear path to taking generational prospect Victor Wembanyama, a 7-foot-5 Frenchman, on the night of June 22. Wembanyama is the early -300 favorite for NBA Rookie of the Year in 2023-24 at DraftKings and the SportsLine Projection Model sets the Spurs at about 30 wins for now.

You could say that the Spurs have a pretty good track record when they pick first and choose a big man. They selected David Robinson out of Navy in 1987 and Tim Duncan from Wake Forest in 1997. Both helped San Antonio become arguably the model franchise in professional U.S. sports. Both were Rookies of the Year and both are Hall of Famers.

Many believe Wembanyama will be one, too, as often on the ESPN telecast Tuesday he was being called perhaps the best prospect to ever enter the NBA and at least the best since LeBron James was chosen first in 2003 by Cleveland. "Wemby" can handle the ball like a guard, shoot step-back 3-pointers and has an 8-foot wingspan to protect the rim. He will have to bulk up, though.

"People talk about generational talent, and they only think on-court skill, but it's bigger than that," Spurs general manager Brian Wright said Tuesday night. "His ability to be a great teammate, his ability to think the game, unique challenges, you see him doing things that you wouldn't even have guessed someone could do. His approach, his professionalism. When you use the word generational talent, it extends beyond your ability to put the ball in the basket. And he's unique in so many ways."

The Spurs already were the most popular NBA team in France because future Hall of Fame guard Tony Parker, a Frenchman, played most of his career for San Antionio, winning four titles and 2007 NBA Finals MVP. Fellow Frenchman Boris Diaw played on the 2014 championship team.

The 2023-24 schedule won't be out for a few months, but it's all but a lock the Spurs' opener will be nationally televised and that they will get several national TV games after being ignored in that regard this past season when the franchise went 22-60. The Spurs, along with the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets, entered Tuesday tied for the highest lottery odds at 14%.

The SportsLine Projection Model used a young hybrid of Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo as a comp for the impact Wembanyama would have on all the lottery teams and he improves the Spurs second-most behind Portland, which picks third. The model had San Antonio as a 22.1-win team for next season. Obviously free agency hasn't happened yet, but the addition of Wembanyama alone ratchets the Spurs up to 30.3. If he had gone to the Trail Blazers to play with Damian Lillard, they would have risen from a 27.3 wins to 36.4.

San Antonio is likely looking at a starting five something along the lines of Tre Jones and Devin Vassell in the backcourt, Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan at forward and Wemby in the middle -- although the team might prefer to play him largely at power forward initially until he adds muscle.  

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