Beijing time July 11: The 2021 U19 Men's Basketball World Cup will have two future top draft favorites.
No. 1 Popularity
The upcoming Gonzaga freshman Chet Holmgren is the number one candidate in the 2022 NBA draft. The United States will face the French team in the U19 Men's Basketball World Cup Championship. French center Victor Wembanyama is the number one candidate in the 2023 NBA draft.
This 7-foot center Homgren defeated Canada 92-86 in the semi-finals, scoring 12 points and 8 rebounds, setting a single game record for the U.S. U.S. U19 men's basketball team 6 blocks.
Chet Holmgren
This victory made up for the regret of the US team losing to Canada in the 2017 U19 semi-finals. In this game, the current Knicks small forward R.J Barrett scored 38 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists to help Canada defeat the US team.
Louisiana Tech forward Kenneth Lofton Jr led the U.S. team with 6 of 9 shots, while TCU guard Mike Miles scored 15 points. Lofton said after the game: "I'm very happy to be fighting for the gold medal. This is the main reason why we came here, in order to compete for the gold medal. Now that we have entered the championship game, it's time to end the journey with victory."
Victor Wembanyama
French center Victor Wembanyama scored 20 points, 8 blocks and 6 rebounds against Lithuania in the knockout round of 8-to-4. He is called a once-in-a-lifetime genius by scouts. On the defensive end, he is an insurmountable wall, and his height provides him with a huge advantage in basketball and blocking; on the offensive end, he can shoot from outside the three-point line and turn around and jump shots. As a big man, he also has excellent passing skills.
He is only 17 years old, 7-2 (2.18 meters) tall and 7-7 wingspan. He signed a three-year contract with French team ASVEL Villeurbanne last month. He was born on January 4, 2004 and averaged 6.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last season.