Victor Wembanyama throws first pitch at Yankee Stadium ahead of NBA Draft

Victor Wembanyama’s trip to New York City this week is strictly business, as the 7’4 French phenom is about 48 hours away from presumably hearing his name called first in the 2023 NBA Draft in Brooklyn. But that doesn’t mean he can’t sneak in some tourist activities while he’s at it — like, for example, throwing out the first pitch at a New York Yankees game.

The team invited Wembanyama up to the Bronx on Tuesday night to do the honors prior to New York’s game against the Seattle Mariners. He arrived at Yankee Stadium like any fan would: on the subway.

Before you ask: Yes, there is photographic evidence.

He went down to the field early to meet with some Yankees players and GM Brian Cashman.

As for the pitch itself? Well, let’s just say it’s a good thing he’s got basketball to fall back on.

(Lest you accuse the 19-year-old of some pinstripe bias, exhale: The New York Mets happen to be on the road in Houston this week, so a trip to Citi Field wasn’t in the cards.)

Wembanyama touched down at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday, where he was promptly mobbed by a crowd of fans hoping to get a glimpse (or an autograph) from the player widely regarded as the most highly-touted basketball prospect since LeBron James some 20 years ago. (DraftKings Sportsbook currently has Wembanyama as a whopping -20000 favorite to be taken with the first pick.)

If you’d like to see what it looks like for a 7’4 guy to hold a baseball in his hands like it’s a marble, well, here you go:

Teams have had their eye on Wembanyama for years now, with everyone who wasn’t in playoff contention doing their best to lose their way to the top of the NBA Draft lottery in the closing weeks of the 2023 season. The honor of picking No. 1 overall eventually went to the San Antonio Spurs, who’ll hope that Wembanyama will have the same sort of impact on the franchise’s fortunes that former top picks David Robinson and Tim Duncan once did. The first round of the 2023 NBA Draft gets underway from Barclays Center on Thursday, June 22, at 8 p.m. ET. It will be televised on ESPN and ABC and available to stream on the ESPN app.