Victor Wembanyama Will Miss NBA Draft Combine, Lottery to Finish French League Season

The basketball fate of the NBA's next generational star will be decided during next Tuesday's NBA draft lottery, but he reportedly will not be in attendance.

According to NBA reporter Marc Stein, Victor Wembanyama will not attend the lottery or the NBA Scouting Combine because his French League season is still ongoing.

ESPN's Jeremy Woo shared the full list of combine invitees:

This is one of the most highly anticipated draft lotteries in recent NBA history considering Wembanyama has been called the best prospect since LeBron James. He will alter the trajectory of whichever team lands him and will be expected to deliver championships at some point during his career.

The Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets all have a 14 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick, while the Charlotte Hornets sit at 12.5 percent and the Portland Trail Blazers round out the top five at 10.5 percent.

Wembanyama's presence at the combine isn't nearly as important as other players who are fighting for draft position.

He is going to go No. 1 regardless of how well he performs at the combine, so he wouldn't have much to gain and would be risking injury if nothing else. It will also give him the chance to finish his season in France before making the move to basketball's highest level.

And he will be firmly under the spotlight when he arrives in the Association.

Some of the league's biggest stars have already added to the hype with James calling him "an alien," Stephen Curry saying he is a "cheat code" and Kevin Durant saying "the league's really in trouble when he comes in," among others.

All that praise makes sense considering Wembanyama is 7'4" with the ability to shoot from deep, beat defenders off the dribble like a guard and score in the paint. There isn't much he can't do on the floor, and he doesn't have to prove that at the combine.

The team that wins the lottery is taking him No. 1 on June 22.