Βy Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge has made a trip to Europe to watch, among others, projected No. 1 pick Victor Wembanayama in live action. The Jazz boss attended the French League game between Wembanyama’s Boulogne-Levallois and Gravelines Dunkerque Sunday (30/4).
Ainge had a pretty good view as Wembanyama dropped 24 points (on 11-15) shots, grabbed 15 rebounds, made four blocks and dished out three assists in 33:43 minutes to push Boulogne to an 80-68 win. At 19 years of age, the French “unicorn” is leading the league in points (21.5), rebounds (9.9) and blocks (3.1) being the absolute favorite to win season MVP. He has Boulogne second in the standings, at 19-10.
Wembanyama will be selected first overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, barring a shocking surprise but the Jazz have slim hopes of acquiring him. Utah has just a 4.5 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick and a 20.3 percent chance to select among the first four teams.
On Saturday, Ainge attended the French League game between Paris Metropolitans and Roanne, featuring Denver Nuggets’ stashed center Ismael Kamagate and Boston Celtics’ stashed guard Juhann Begarin. The latter finished second in second in the voting for the 2023 EuroCup Rising Star after posting 12.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.9 steals.