A new era for basketball gets under way on Thursday when French prodigy Victor Wembanyama is set to be chosen by the San Antonio Spurs with the top pick in the NBA Draft.

The annual ritual to allocate the top young talent entering the league is often accompanied by a swirl of intrigue over which player is likely to be selected first overall.

But that guessing game will be notably absent at Thursday's event in Brooklyn, with San Antonio's selection of the 19-year-old Wembanyama a mere formality.

The seven-foot, four-inch French teenager is widely regarded as a transformational talent, a once-in-a-generation player regarded as the most sought-after number one pick since LeBron James entered the league two decades ago.

Wild celebrations erupted among San Antonio's fans last month when the Spurs won the NBA Draft Lottery to determine which team would own the number one pick.

Spurs staff also struggled in vain to keep a lid on their excitement, with chairman Peter J Holt admitting: "I might faint."

San Antonio general manager Brian Wright sees Wembanyama – who will be formally unveiled by the team in Texas on Saturday – as a "unique talent".

"People talk about generational talent, and they only think on-court skill, but it's bigger than that," Wright told ESPN.

"You see him doing things that you wouldn't even have guessed someone could do," Wright added.

With his potentially dominant blend of size and skill, Wembanyama has already drawn a legion of admirers across the NBA before even setting foot in the league.

LeBron James says Wembanyama's skillset makes him less a "unicorn" and "more like an alien".

"No one has ever seen someone as tall as he is and as fluid and as graceful as he is on the floor," James said after watching Wembanyama play a game for French club Metropolitans 92 in Nevada last year. "He's for sure a generational talent." (AFP)