Barring a tragic collision with a dangly light fixture or a highway overpass, the 19-year-old Victor Wembanyama will be selected with the No. 1 pick in Thursday's NBA Draft, and he arrived in the Big Apple a few days early for the occasion. On Monday, the 7-foot-2 Frenchman landed at Newark International Airport, where he signed basketballs and Spurs jerseys amid a sea of fans. "I don't know how they knew what flight I was on, but it's fun," he said.
On Tuesday, Wembanyama visited the midtown offices of the players union, and then headed to Columbus Circle to catch a Bronx-bound D train.
He could not quite stand upright in the train. When it stopped at 125th Street, however, Wemby found a seat, according to The New York Times.
Wemby got off the subway at Yankees Stadium, where he was due to throw the first pitch before they hosted the Mariners. The proud baseball looked like a mere bauble in his hands.
Though it was thrown by the "greatest prospect in the history of team sports," per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Wemby's pitch was a little off-target. You hate to see a guy with his length failing to maximize his extension to the plate. I don't dare imagine how bad the depth on his breaking pitches must be.
At some point on Tuesday, Wemby also found time to hit a key element of every NYC tourist's checklist: recording a podcast with JJ Redick. In an hourlong interview, Wemby came off as focused, calm, and soaringly confident. What a gem. If only New York could keep him.
