If there was any fear about Victor Wembanyama's adjustment to the NBA, it had to do with his frame. Wembanyama is one of the NBA's tallest players at 7-foot-3, but he is very skinny for his height and will almost certainly bulk up with more time in San Antonio's strength and conditioning program.

"It's very possible that he'll be the face of basketball. Not just NBA basketball, but world basketball," said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle.

The story, as Buford tells it, goes like this: Claudio Crippa, an international scout for the Spurs, proposed going to see a youth game before checking out Doumbouya. Buford saw Wembanyama play for the first time that day. And the seeds for the Spurs’ new master plan were immediately planted.