"It's very possible that he'll be the face of basketball. Not just NBA basketball, but world basketball," said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle.

Clippers center Ivica Zubac had 21 points and 22 rebounds in an intense battle with San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama as the Clippers rallied to beat the San Antonio Spurs 128-116 on Wednesday night.

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.