Victor Wembanyama NBA Summer League debut: A must-see event ...

LAS VEGAS – The sold-out crowd of nearly 19,000 people at Thomas & Mack Center stood in anticipation of Victor Wembanyama's debut with the San Antonio Spurs on Friday at NBA summer league against the Charlotte Hornets.

When he took the court, they screamed, finally catching a glimpse of the 19-year-old who's receiving more hype than anyone since LeBron James entered the league in 2003.

Tickets sold out earlier this week. It was just the second time in NBA summer league history that there's been a sellout in advance of gameday, following Zion Williamson's debut with New Orleans in 2019. And it was just the fifth sellout ever.

Six-time NBA champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was in attendance, as well as Jerry West (whose likeness is the NBA logo) and rapper J. Cole.

But his start was anticlimactic.

To open the game, Wembanyama's nerves were definitely showing. He missed his first three shot attempts including a driving dunk. By halftime, he had five points on 1-for-7 shooting from the field, including 0-for-3 from beyond the arc, five rebounds and three blocks in 13 minutes. He finished with nine points, eight rebounds and five blocks in 27 minutes in the Spurs' 76-68 win.

But beyond the court, Wembymania was in full swing.

Fans in Wembanyama jerseys milled about the arena hours before the game, coming from all over.

Dallin Biorn, a 27-year-old Spurs fan, drove between 11-12 hours from Colorado to Las Vegas to watch Wembanyama play. He said he bought three tickets for $45 as soon as they went live online, reselling one of them for nearly five times as much Thursday ($215) to fund the trip.

"I feel like it's the next-coming of hopefully the rebirth of our dynasty," Biorn said of the Spurs, who won five championships before missing the playoffs the past four seasons. "So I wanted to see him the first time he plays. It's a big deal."

Michael Escobedo, 45, flew from Indiana to Las Vegas to catch a glimpse of the No. 1 overall pick in last month's NBA Draft. If Wembanyama remains healthy, he believes he could become the next face of the league.

"I didn't even know if he was going to play or not, but I still got [tickets]," Escobedo said.

At 7-foot-4 with an 8-foot wingspan, Wembanyama is considered a never-before-seen talent. He can dribble and shoot with the skills of someone a foot shorter than him. He can also post up and rebound, taking advantage of his incredibly unique frame.

According to an NBA source, the mystique around Wembanyama might even surpass James' 20 years ago. After all, many people have only heard about Wembanyama's talent or seen clips of him online, which has led to him becoming a myth of sorts.

"We knew about LeBron," the source told FOX Sports. "We had watched LeBron play in high school. I watched LeBron play football. But Wemby was [in France]. It's 2023 and obviously we have greater access to everything because of social media. But we don't know him. I bet when you go down to that game this evening, if you were to poll the crowd and ask them how many of you have actually seen him play a game, it would be very few people."

So, in a sense, Friday could be considered Wembanyama's first real NBA test, other than a pair of games against G League's Ignite.

Even though it didn't start out swimmingly, the game still looked easy for Wembanyama at times. He won the opening tip with laughable ease. He showed some fancy dribbling moves in the first quarter that wowed the crowd. 

His first made shot was an and-one bank shot under the basket three minutes into the game.

His potential shined through his rockiness.

Wembanyama made quite a name for himself in France, where he had played professionally since he was 15. This past season, he averaged 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and three blocks per game for Metropolitans 92. He was named MVP of France's LNB Pro A league, the youngest player to receive that honor.

But while Wembanyama is undoubtedly a remarkable talent, it remains to be seen whether he'll become the player he's billed to become in the NBA.

"By the All-Star break, people are going to have a better sense: Is he all that or not," the NBA source said. "I think he could be. I just don't know for how long. The ‘for how long’ part scares me. He's got a lot of work to do on his body. He really does. Because of all the hype, people are going to go after him every night. So, we'll see if he can hold onto that."

For Wembanyama, this is just the beginning.

All eyes will be on him this season, which could be the ultimate blessing or curse for the teenager with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.