Future NBA star Victor Wembanyama had the honor of throwing the first pitch at the New York Yankees game Tuesday night but it didn’t go too well.
The French teenager, who touched down in the United States Monday ahead of Thursday’s draft, wasted no time in visiting the country’s other iconic sports teams.
Wembanyama, 19, is used to wowing on the basketball court and is expected to continue doing so in the NBA but his first visit to the mound could be his last.
He threw the first pitch at the Yankees’ game Tuesday but yanked it well outside, missing the catcher entirely.
Before the Yankees’ matchup against the Seattle Mariners the 7-foot-4 phenom shared a snap of the baseball looking freakishly small in his hands.
Victor Wembanyama had the honor of throwing the first pitch at the New York Yankees game
The teenager yanked his pitch well outside, missing the catcher entirely at Yankee Stadium
The future NBA star shared a snap of the baseball looking freakishly small in his hands
The French superstar appeared to acknowledge how small the baseball, which resembled something more like a golf ball, looked in his hands as he wrote: ‘Lmaooooo.’
Wembanyama, wearing an unreleased pair Nike x Drake sneakers and a Yankees jersey, took the time to sign autographs for fans at the side of the field.
The sensation will be taken No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs when the card is read out at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Wembanyama, wearing a Joe DiMaggio No. 5 jersey, took a few swings in the batting cages and showed off yet another skill as he juggles baseball to the awe of this audience gathered.
He was also spotted chatting to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, hilariously towering over him.
‘Everything is going so fast. I just landed yesterday from France,’ Wembanyama told The YES Network. ‘I just feel extremely lucky to be here.’
He was given a preview of what his life Stateside would be like when he was swarmed by fans at Newark Airport Monday ahead of the draft.
In video exclusively obtained by Mail Sport, Wembanyama admitted he’s excited to be in the Big Apple.
The French phenom took the time to sign autographs for fans at the side of the field
He showed off yet another skill as he juggles baseball to the awe of this audience gathered
The 7-foot-5 sensation wore a Joe DiMaggio No. 5 Yankees jersey and black shorts
He chatted to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman (L), hilariously towering over him
‘I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,’ the French phenom said, via Adam Glyn.
The young Frenchman is the biggest NBA Draft prize in more than a decade. Dubbed a ‘generational talent’ by none other than LeBron James, Wembanyama is athletic, skilled, enormous, and still only 19.
Wembanyama will be drafted precisely two decades on from when James was taken by his hometown organization, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in 2003. He has received praise for all corners of the globe in recent months – and perhaps none greater than from James’s former teammate, Richard Jefferson.
‘If LeBron James at that exact moment showed up, Victor would go higher than him,’ Jefferson, a former teammate of James, said during an October airing of NBA Today.
Wembanyama was spotted at Newark airport in New York City ahead of Thursday’s draft
The San Antonio Spurs are near certain to take the most prized player since LeBron James
‘LeBron James, and all the things that we saw — and I’m not saying he’s going to be better than LeBron James — what I’m saying is right now, I remember LeBron James 20 years ago.
‘That player was six-foot-seven, this person is seven-[foot]-four. LeBron James would be number two if he has the exact same age in the exact same draft, LeBron James would be number two. That’s how crazy this kid is as a prospect.’
The 19-year-old will play in the NBA’s Summer League this July after previous reporting said the French phenom would skip the event.
Wembanyama just wrapped up the LNB Pro A championship series, where his Metropolitans 92 squad were swept in a best-of-five series vs. Monaco.