"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.

After a week in France, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are back in the United States to resume the regular season. The Spurs won the first of two contests vs. the Indiana Pacers in Paris by 30 points.