Kylian Mbappe reacts to Spurs clinching MASSIVE move for French WONDERKID

Robin Bairner

• 23 Jun 2023 11:30 BST
• 4 min read

Kylian Mbappe has congratulated compatriot Victor Wembenyama for being selected by the San Antonio Spurs as the No.1 pick in the NBA draft.

The 19-year-old Wembenyama was born in Paris only a few miles from Mbappe’s home of Bondy and is considered to be one of the brightest basketball prospects of his generation.

The 24-year-old Mbappe, meanwhile, well knows the pressure of such a status, having exploded onto the footballing scene with Monaco before graduating to PSG. He has already claimed a string of leading honours in the game, including the 2018 World Cup, while he became just the second player in history to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final four years later in Qatar as France fell short on penalties against Argentina.

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Now he has passed on his good wishes to the 2.24m Wembenyama, who previously turned out for Tony Parker’s ASVEL side and Boris Diaw’s Metropolitans 92 in France’s Pro A league.

Taking to Twitter, Mbappe told his young countryman: “WEMBY! The story starts now!”

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Mbappe to be rivalled by Wemby

Wembenyama is the first Frenchman to be selected as the No.1 pick in the NBA draft and it is expected that he will now rival Mbappe’s stardom in his homeland.

Frank Hocquemiller, who is in charge of Wembenyama’s image rights has explained to Le Parisien, explaining: “In marketing, he has the potential to be at the level of a [Kylian] Mbappe. Like him, he can mark the history of his sport forever.

“His disproportionate size makes him an exceptional person who cannot be compared to anyone.

“He has a profile to interest brands in different universes, in fashion, energy drinks, car manufacturers… There are things to do in storytelling.

“But we want to make Victor rare. He rejects multi-million dollar contracts because he wants to focus on basketball.”

Mbappe, meanwhile, is known to be a huge fan of basketball and the NBA, having been pictured with the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and, of course, Wemby in the past.