Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs is one of the most impressive and admired young stars in the league. Because of that, he gets a ton of attention, from fans and other players. But Wembanyama feels he doesn’t get a fair whistle in games and has a problem with how referees treat him.

"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.