San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama celebrates after making a 3-point shot against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half of an NBA summer league basketball game Sunday, July 9, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)AP Photo/John Locher

Spurs' Victor Wembanyama Propels NBA to 2nd-Most Watched Summer League in History

Paul KasabianJul 18, 2023

This year's NBA Summer League session was the second-most watched in league history, per the Association's communications department:

This year was highlighted by French superstar Victor Wembanyama, who the San Antonio Spurs selected No. 1 overall in the NBA draft.

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Wembanyama's debut on July 7 against the Charlotte Hornets was the second-most watched game in summer-league history with 1.39 million viewers.

Zion Williamson's first appearance with the New Orleans Pelicans in the summer of 2019 against the New York Knicks is No. 1, per Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, at 1.61 million viewers.

The 7'5" big man played two games, averaging 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per contest. The Spurs shut him down for the remainder of the summer after the second contest.

Wembanyama and the Spurs figure to be must-see television this season, and the team figures to get a lot of national television love given the tremendous hype. So NBA Nielsen ratings may continue the upward trend it saw last season with him aboard.