Victor Wembanyama is only 19 and has not played a minute in an NBA jersey, but the French teenager is poised to land an array of lucrative deals likely to make him one of the most commercially successful athletes in history.
Wembanyama will take center-stage at the NBA Draft in Brooklyn on Thursday, when the gifted 224-centimeter center widely viewed as a once-in-a-generation basketball talent is set to be chosen with the number one pick by the San Antonio Spurs.
Already, Wembanyama is being tipped to potentially land an improved $100 million contract with U.S. sporting goods behemoth Nike, eclipsing the $90 million offered to LeBron James when he entered the league in 2003.