Victor Wembanyama nearly landed with Rockets in 2023 draft
Date Published
At Toyota Center in Houston, the Rockets were closer than most people realized to changing the course of their rebuild in May 2023. Victor Wembanyama nearly landed with the Rockets, and the difference came down to a tiebreaking coin toss and one ping-pong ball in the NBA draft lottery process.
That twist matters here because Houston entered that offseason with one of the league's youngest rosters and a chance to add a franchise-altering talent. Instead, the Spurs won the right to draft Wembanyama, while the Rockets stayed at No. 4 and later selected Amen Thompson.
The Chronicle's report revisited the narrow path that almost sent the 7-foot-4 French phenom to Houston. Before the 2023 lottery drawing, Houston and San Antonio finished with identical 22-60 records. The teams split the combined odds assigned to the second- and third-worst records, then settled the draft order tiebreaker with a coin toss. San Antonio won that toss, which gave the Spurs slightly better lottery positioning entering the drawing.
Victor Wembanyama nearly landed with Rockets
The margins were tiny. According to the Chronicle, if one ping-pong ball combination had turned up differently, Houston would have jumped to the top pick. That would have put Wembanyama, the most coveted prospect in years, in a Rockets uniform instead of a Spurs one.
Houston still left that draft with a player the front office valued highly in Thompson, plus another first-rounder in Cam Whitmore at No. 20. The rebuild also took a major turn that summer when the Rockets hired Ime Udoka and added veteran help in free agency. The club improved fast, but Wembanyama's rise in San Antonio keeps the what-might-have-been angle alive across Texas.
The 2023 lottery still shapes Houston's rebuild
This isn't about rewriting history. It's about understanding how slim the gap was between Houston's current roster and a completely different future. Wembanyama has already become one of the league's biggest attractions, and his presence with a division rival adds another layer for the Rockets.
Houston's path moved in a different direction. Thompson developed into a central piece, Alperen Sengun grew into an All-Star level cornerstone, and the Rockets pushed back into the Western Conference playoff race. A single lottery result did not ruin the rebuild, but it remains one of the sharpest turning points of the last few years for the franchise.
The Rockets and Spurs will keep sharing that comparison as long as Wembanyama plays in the Southwest Division. Every head-to-head meeting will bring it back, especially when the schedule returns to Toyota Center next season.
This article is a summary of reporting by Houston Chronicle. Read the full story here.