By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
When Victor Wembanyma decided to leave ASVEL after one year, the EuroLeague club owned by Tony Parker, and join Metropolitans 92 in order to prepare himself for the upcoming NBA draft, a lot of eyebrows were raised.
On one hand, two games per week, especially one of them in the highest European competition, included a number of risks for the young prospect, from not having the expected impact to injury woes.
On the other hand, that move was considered a blow to ASVEL’s reputation for preparing draft prospects, after the moderate success they had with Theo Maledon.
However, Tony Parker, while speaking to the French newspaper “L’Equipe”, had only high praises for the young French basketball prodigy: “Victor is a phenomenon apart, who has everything to make it, but he missed half of last season with us due to injuries. The most important thing is that he stays healthy. If he does to the draft, he’ll be the first pick in the 2023 draft and change the franchise he goes to. I wish him a career in Tim Duncan”.
For Parker, the draft at an early age should not be a priority for most other European players, especially from France, who often leave for the States too soon: “The NBA draft doesn’t mean much anymore. It’s about potential. I understand, there is a lot of money to be made in the United States. But the Americans are very strict about recruiting. Out of 400 active NBA players, 60 new ones arrive each year, so you only have one chance to make a good impression. Better come prepared”.
So his advice is simple: “Resist the sirens of money, know how to be lucid, and leave at the right time, after having accumulated experience “.