Considered one of the best basketball prospects of his generation due to his rare combination of height, length, speed, ball-handling skills, shooting range and agility, he was selected first overall by the Spurs in the 2023 NBA draft.

[17] In February 2018, Wembanyama was loaned to FC Barcelona for the Minicopa del Rey, an under-14 tournament in Spain, leading his team to third place.

[19] In the 2019–20 season, Wembanyama gained his first professional experience with the Nanterre 92 senior team under head coach Pascal Donnadieu,[17] receiving limited playing time in two games.

[25] In the 2020–21 season, Wembanyama split time between Nanterre's senior and under-21 teams and signed an agreement to also play for Centre Fédéral in the Nationale Masculine 1 (NM1).

[27] In October, Wembanyama featured in a viral video where he showcased his skills in a two-on-two pick-up game against Rudy Gobert and Vincent Poirier.

[28] On 12 December, he suffered a stress fracture in his fibula during an Espoirs game against BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque, with an estimated recovery time of eight weeks.

[43] On 3 June, Wembanyama was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a psoas muscle injury he sustained during a Pro A semifinal game against JDA Dijon.

[51][52] He was drawn to the team due to head coach Vincent Collet's reputation for developing and providing opportunities for young players.

[49] In October 2022, Wembanyama gained recognition from American media after two exhibition games against the NBA G League Ignite, featuring projected second overall pick Scoot Henderson, in Las Vegas.

[59] On 2 December, Wembanyama recorded his fourth straight 30-point game, with 32 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three assists in a 96–85 victory over Fos Provence, leading his team to its ninth consecutive win.

[61] On 9 January 2023, Wembanyama made a game-winning putback dunk with 3.5 seconds left in regulation and recorded 15 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in an 84–83 win over ASVEL.

[75] On 25 October, Wembanyama made his NBA regular-season debut putting up 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in a 126–119 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

[78] He joined LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the only teenagers in NBA history to put up at least 35 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks in a game.

He became the youngest player in NBA history to put up at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game at 19 years and 338 days old, surpassing the previous record set by Dwight Howard.

[88] On 23 February, Wembanyama put up a five-by-five with 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five steals, and five blocks in a 123–118 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

He also joined Tim Duncan and David Robinson (all ironically on the Spurs) as the only rookies in NBA history to put up at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks in a game.

[102] On 9 November, Wembanyama put up 24 points, 16 rebounds, seven blocks, and shot six-of-nine from three-point range in a 111–110 loss to the Utah Jazz.

He became just the sixth player in league history to record 30-plus points and 10-plus blocks in a game, joining Hakeem Olajuwon (5x), David Robinson (3x), Artis Gilmore, Dwight Howard and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

[105] On 25 December, he made his Christmas Day debut, registering 42 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 blocks in a 117–114 loss to the New York Knicks.

[108] He averaged nine points, 9.6 rebounds and a tournament-leading 5.3 blocks per game, leading France to a silver medal and earning all-tournament team honours.

Wembanyama averaged 14 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.7 blocks per game, and was named to the all-tournament team after leading France to the silver medal.

[111] Wembanyama was on the preliminary 17-player roster of the French national team for EuroBasket 2022, but was ruled out a month ahead, due to an injury he suffered at the end of the 2021–22 season.

In the final, Wembanyama scored a team-high 26 points, however, the United States pulled away late in the fourth quarter which left France with a silver medal.

[117] After the final, Wembanyama was named the tournament's Rising Star,[118] as well as a member of the All-Star Five, following his averages of 15.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2 blocks and 1.7 steals per game.

Wembanyama is widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA prospects in a generation;[121] many publications called him the most anticipated newcomer to the league since LeBron James in 2003.

[128] Measured at 7 feet 3+1⁄2 inches (2.22 m),[129] with an estimated 8-foot (2.4 m) wingspan,[25][127] Wembanyama entered the NBA as one of the league's tallest players,[130] although his height has raised questions about his durability.

[134] ESPN draft analyst Mike Schmitz compared his defensive impact to Rudy Gobert and his shooting potential to Kristaps Porziņģis, albeit with better ball-handling and passing skills.

[17][146] Besides his native French, he speaks English fluently, having learned it himself beginning in middle school by watching videos from American accounts on Instagram and English-language television shows.

[150] While in Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League, Wembanyama and his personal security team were involved in an 'incident' with pop singer Britney Spears.

[157] While Wembanyama doesn't have his own signature sneaker yet, he helped design his own player exclusive version of the Nike GT Hustle 2, called "The Alien", inspired by his nickname.