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Victor Wembanyama’s NBA career got off to a bit of a slow start on Friday night.
Wembanyama, in front of a sold-out crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, scored nine points with eight rebounds and five blocks in his first Summer League game. Wembanyama shot just 2-of-13 from the field, about 15%, in the San Antonio Spurs’ 76-68 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
“Just gotta get acclimated to the new style of play … Next time, I’m going to do better,” Wembanyama said on ESPN after the game. “I hope to do better every time.”
The Spurs officially selected Wembanyama with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft last month. The nearly 7-foot-4 center has been touted as the best NBA prospect since LeBron James, and has been turning heads in France. He’s the first No. 1 overall pick to ever come out of France, and is the first European player to go first in the draft without playing NCAA college basketball since 2006. He’s coming off a season in the French LNB Pro A league where he led the league in points, rebounds and blocks while both earning the league MVP and leading his team to the Finals.
Wembanyama ran into a bit of an issue in Las Vegas before Friday’s game even tipped off. He was involved in an incident on Wednesday when a member of his security team confronted pop star Britney Spears when she was trying to get his attention at the Aria Hotel. A police report was filed, but officials didn’t file charges after an investigation showed Spears accidentally hit herself in the face after her hand was pushed off Wembanyama’s back. Wembanyama said he didn’t know Spears was trying to approach him during the incident, and that he “kept walking and enjoyed a nice dinner.”
The Wembanyama hype has been very real, and it’s easy to understand why. Friday marked just the second time a Summer League session has been sold out ahead of time, and the first time an opening session was sold out ever. NBA legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West were in attendance. ESPN kept showing live Wembanyama look-ins during the Portland-Houston game before his, too.
Finally, Wembanyama got a 3-pointer to fall late in the fourth quarter. He drew a foul on the play and converted the four-point play. Julian Champagnie led the Spurs with 20 points and eight rebounds. Malaki Branham added 17 points
Miller, who went No. 2 overall in the draft, led the Hornets with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Bryce McGowens added 15 points, and James Bouknight finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Though Wembanyama's debut wasn't as flashy as many may have liked, there's no reason to overreact. The 19-year-old has played in only one Summer League game so far. He's got plenty of time to settle into the league.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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