As One of Michael Jordan?s Personalities Paves the Way for 7?4 Giant, NBA Rookie of the Year Unravels the Value of Victor Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama had taken center stage in the discussions on the 2023 NBA draft way before he had declared for the draft, which he did last Friday. Amid the playoffs frenzy, the hoops community is also busy speculating where the projected first-overall pick will land. Additionally, after making it to the NBA, the seven-footer is likely to benefit immensely from a revolution that Michael Jordan had once started. Spicing up the discourse on Wembanyama and his NBA prospects, Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero recently shed light on the French prodigy’s potential addition to his team.

Paolo Banchero recently made headlines after winning the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy as the 2022-23 Rookie of the Year. However, Banchero’s side is far from a place to celebrate his success as they finished the season as the 13th seed in the East with an underwhelming record of 34-48. However, the Magic might join in the celebrations if they are able to land a talent like Victor Wembanyama. Banchero recently addressed the possibility.

Paolo Banchero addresses the possibility of Victor Wembanyama joining Orlando

The NBA Draft Lottery is hardly a month away. While some teams have lit up the post-season stage, the teams that missed the playoffs are now weighing their draft chances, with Victor Wembanyama leading the pack of new prospects.

Last season, the Orlando Magic won the draft lottery and landed Paolo Banchero as the first overall pick. This year, the Magic have the sixth-best odds to land the number one pick for the upcoming season. The first overall pick turned Rookie of the Year for the Orlando side recently weighed in on his team’s’s prospects in the upcoming draft.

In an interview on ESPN’s?NBA Today, Paolo Banchero was asked about Victor Wembanyama’s potential addition to the Magic roster, if they get lucky in the 2023 NBA draft. “If we were able to add that guy, I think it would take this team to another level,” said Banchero. The 20-year also said emphasized the Frenchman’s towering 7’4 physique and how it will give them an edge over others in the game. “Whatever team that’s gonna get him is lucky. But if we get him, I think it’s gonna cause a lot of problems for this league,” Banchero added.

Apart from Wembanyama’s basketball, business is also likely to boom for the 7’4 giant after joining the NBA. However, if it weren’t for Michael Jordan, Wembanyama would not be able to see big business dreams in the NBA.

Michael Jordan paved a path for generations of NBA stars

Michael Jordan’s shoe deal with Nike is one of the most intriguing episodes in NBA folklore. At the heart of the deal’s importance is the fact that it introduced the concept of signature shoes with the athlete partly owning the brand. Prior to Jordan’s handshake with Nike, deals with the company did not include revenues of sales generated from the sneakers. However, that changed after Jordan stepped in. Former Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro once said how Michael Jordan’s two separate personalities helped modernize the NBA.

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“Michael…has two personalities. He is this great athlete that does extraordinary things athletically, but he has this mindset that he can divorce himself from people and be a private person…He took that mindset to own part of Nike and create it as a business. LeBron, Kobe, all these guys got a piece of whatever. Maybe Victor [Wembanyama?s] going to get a piece. This new kid. If I?m Victor?s agent, I want a piece of it right now,” Sonny Vaccaro told?Vanity Fair?in an interview, explaining how MJ’s personality revolutionized Nike’s shoe deals in the NBA.

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What do you think about Victor Wembanyama’s prospects in the NBA? Will he follow the path paved by His Airness to land a phenomenal deal with Nike?