The San Antonio Spurs were the luckiest team in the league at the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery. Fortunately, for the Spurs and their fans, the ping-pong balls bounced their way and the team ended up winning the first overall selection in 2023 NBA Draft on June 22.
There’s zero doubt as to who the Spurs will select. Victor Wembanyama, the most exciting prospect since LeBron James, is the unanimous choice to be taken first overall in the Draft.
The 7-foot-4 native of Nanterre, France, has already started planning for life in San Antonio, Texas. A quick look at the game tape will make anyone a believer in Wembanyama. He has the potential to be the most complete player in the NBA for a long time.
Wemby’s set of tools, size, and athleticism allow him to take over a game in many different ways. From operating on the perimeter to driving to the rim, backing down opponents in the paint, and protecting the rim, Wembanyama has it all covered.
Are you confident in Wembanyama having a big rookie season? Or, do you believe he is being overhyped? Fortunately, you can bet on Wembanyama prop bets at the best NBA betting sites to make some money.
Let’s examine the latest Wembanyama prop bets and make some predictions for the rookie’s upcoming season along with the Spurs success in 2023-24.
“There’s a special relation between France and the Spurs. … The whole country wanted the Spurs to have the first pick.”
-Victor Wembanyama
(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/PuPdb2KfaD
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 17, 2023
2023-24 Victor Wembanyama Prop Bets
BetUS is offering a variety of Wembanyama prop bets for his rookie season in 2023-24. These are season-long prop bets that will run from the first game of the regular season to the last game.
Will Wembanyama match the success that David Robinson and Tim Duncan had in their rookie seasons?
Robinson and Duncan had big impacts in their rookie years with the Spurs. They hit the floor running quickly in San Antonio. Robinson averaged 24.3 points, 12 rebounds, and 3.9 blocks per game in his rookie season in 19901.
Seven years later, Duncan entered the NBA and averaged 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game in 1997-19982. You can bet on all three stat lines for Wembanyama for the 2023-24 season.
Victor Wembanyama Points Per Game Average 2023-24 Regular Season
| POINTS | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Over 18.5 | -110 |
| Under 18.5 | -130 |
The points per game Wembanyama prop bet opened at 17.5 points. As of last week, BetUS had this prop listed at 17.5 points. However, the odds have been bet up to 18.5 points, as money continued to flow in on the Over.
Are we confident in Wembanyama tipping over 18.5 points per game? If Gregg Popovich allows him to open up his game right from the start, then Wembanyama should have a great chance to score more than 20 points per game.
Popovich was not shy about giving the keys to Duncan in his rookie season. The offense ran through Robinson and Duncan from day 1 in 1997. The two quickly became known as the Twin Towers in the frontcourt.
The Spurs are coming off a 22-60 season. Devin Vassell has star potential, while Keldon Johnson continues to improve. But Popovich will immediately run the offense through Wembanyama.
#NBADraft prospect Victor Wembanyama put up 21 PTS and 14 REB in Game 2 against Cholet 💪 pic.twitter.com/SunT9kj9hS
— NBA (@NBA) May 23, 2023
Wembanyama will see touches early and often in his rookie season. He will have opportunities to fill the rim with his incredible skills from anywhere on the floor. In his final season with the Metropolitans in France, Wembanyama recorded 21.6 points per game3.
What happened the last time we had a prospect as exciting as Wemby enter the NBA?
LeBron James averaged 20.9 points per game with the Cavaliers in 2003-244. Kevin Durant also touched over 20 points per game, with 20.3 points in 2007-085.
We expect Wembanyama to score close to 20 points per game. He is likely around 19.2 to 19.8 points per game by the end of the regular season. That is enough to put him Over for this Wembanyama prop bet.
Victor Wembanyama Rebounds Per Game Average 2023-24 Regular Season
| REBOUNDS | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Over 8.5 | -130 |
| Under 8.5 | -110 |
Do you want to only bet on one Wembanyama prop bet? If we were picking one prop to bet on, it has to be this Wembanyama rebounding prop.
The 7-foot-4 Wembanyama, who is reportedly 7-foot-5 in shoes, will make his living in the paint for Popovich. He can step back and make a shot and defend on the perimeter, but Popovich is likely going to want to see Wembanyama flourish on the interior.
In addition to his height, Wembanyama has an incredible wingspan that reaches eight feet6. While there is room for Wembanyama to get stronger, his rebounding ability should immediately translate to the NBA game next season.
Wembanyama collected an average of 10.4 rebounds per game in his final season in Europe. He pulled down 8.4 defensive rebounds and two offensive rebounds per game.
Playing time should not be an issue for Wembanyama in his rookie season. Popovich will want to make him a fixture around the rim immediately.
After Duncan and Popovich work with Wembanyama in the preseason, they should have him well on his way to averaging 11 rebounds per game.
We will bump it down slightly to roughly 10.5 rebounds per game in his rookie season. Regardless, Wembanyama should notch well Over 8.5 rebounds per game in 2023-24.
This is our best NBA betting pick on Wembanyama at BetUS.
Victor Wembanyama Blocks Per Game Average 2023-24 Regular Season
| BLOCKS | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Over 2.5 | +100 |
| Under 2.5 | -140 |
There are a lot of things that make Wembanyama a special talent. He does everything that a scout looks for in a prospect. If there is one aspect of his game that is the best, it has to be his ability to protect the rim.
Wembanyama is arguably the best shot blocker drafted in the NBA over the last decade or so. The athleticism, paired with his insane wingspan, makes Webmanyama an obvious candidate for a big career as a shot blocker.
Kylian Mbappe was loving this block from Victor Wembanyama 😬😅
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) May 16, 2023
The greatest impact that Wembanyama is likely to have in his rookie season is as a defender in the paint. Popovich has to be confident that Wembanyama can instantly go into an NBA floor and make an impact on defense.
He might have a few hiccups offensively early on in his rookie campaign. However, Wembanyama should begin the block party early in his career.
Last season, Wemby recorded three blocks per game in 34 games with the Metropolitans. Duplicating three blocks per game will be tough with the Spurs in year one.
However, 2.7 blocks per game is within reach for Wembanyama. At even money, this Wemby prop bet is a strong value wager.
2023-24 San Antonio Spurs Season Odds
In addition to the Wembanyama prop bets, BetUS has Spurs season win totals on the board. Along with putting together a Wembanyama NBA betting strategy, you can wager on how much team success the Spurs will have next season.
Currently, the Spurs’ win total is set at 32.5 wins in 2023-24. Will Wembanyama have that much of an impact on the Spurs? Let’s get into our Spurs season prediction for next season.
San Antonio Spurs Regular Season Wins 2023-24 Regular Season
| WINS | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Over 32.5 | -130 |
| Under 32.5 | -110 |
The Spurs finished with a record of 22-60 last season. The poor season resulted in the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. It was not a bad season to tank with Wemby on the board.
It wouldn’t hurt the Spurs to play for the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery next season. Adding another top prospect to play alongside Wembanyama would be a success for the future. Nevertheless, the Spurs are not going to have the worst team in 2023-24.
The bar for success is high with a San Antonio No. 1 pick.
The Spurs went 56-26 in their first season with David Robinson and 56-26 in their first season with Tim Duncan.
Those are the two best records by a team with a rookie No. 1 pick in the lottery era (since 1985). pic.twitter.com/UBS2h7wZjr
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 17, 2023
Wembanyama is a considerable upgrade over Zach Collins, Charles Bassey, and Sandro Mamukelahvili at the center position. Collins could thrive off the bench, though. Suddenly, the Spurs will have solid depth at center after drafting Wembanyama.
Collins is coming off the best season of his career and make for a nice option off the bench behind Wembanyama. Will inserting Wembanyama into the lineup make the Spurs 11 wins better than last year?
Maybe not Wembanyama alone, but if Vassell and Johnson take another step forward, then yes. Vassell is the one to monitor for the Spurs. He should benefit the most from Wemby’s presence on the floor.
The 22-year-old easily surpassed his previous highs in his third season in the NBA. After scoring 12.3 points per game in 2021-22, Vassell notched 18.5 points per game on 43.9% shooting last season.
Look for the shooting guard to have more room to operate with Wembanyama taking attention away from him. This team will not be a contender in the Western Conference next season. However, they’re going in the right direction for at least 34 wins in 2023-24.
Sources
David Robinson Stats | ESPN. Retrieved From “https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/715/david-robinson”
Tim Duncan Stats | ESPN. Retrieved From “https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/215/tim-duncan”
Victor Wembanyama International Stats | Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved From “https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wembavi01.html”
LeBron James Stats | ESPN. Retrieved From “https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/1966/lebron-james”
Kevin Durant Stats | ESPN. Retrieved From “https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3202/kevin-durant”
How tall is Victory Wembanyama? NBA prospect’s height grows again | NBC Sports. Retrieved From “https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/how-tall-victor-wembanyama-nba-prospects-height-grows-again”
