The four-time Spurs champion is in the Philippines for NBA House this weekend alongside Jason Kidd and Lauren Jackson.
Tony Parker ranked Victor Wembanyama at the top of the NBA at NBA House Philippines in Manila. Bea Fabregas, a Manila radio host and former UAAP courtside reporter, posted video of the remarks to Instagram.
France had beaten Slovenia 92-67 the day before, in the second round of 2027 FIBA World Cup European qualifying. Wembanyama scored 22 points.
Parker wants championships out of Wembanyama in San Antonio and with France.
"I'm super happy he's a Spur, super happy he's playing for the French national team, and I feel like you know, he's maybe the best player in the NBA right now. And I hope he brings a lot of championships for the Spurs and France," Parker said.
The fan event runs Saturday and Sunday at SPACE at One Ayala in Makati City. Jason Kidd and Lauren Jackson are appearing alongside Parker, and the Larry O'Brien Trophy is on display for the weekend.
Parker did not attend the Finals in June. He was in Lyon with France's U17 team, preparing it for the FIBA U17 World Cup in Turkey.
"What he's doing at his age is phenomenal," Parker explained to BeBasket. "For me, he's the best player in the NBA, and by far. It's very rare to win in the NBA with such a young team. Beating Oklahoma City was an incredible achievement, but now they have to finish the job."
Wembanyama spent the 2021-22 season at ASVEL, the Villeurbanne team Parker owns and runs as president, and won a French championship there.
Wembanyama is coming off a dominant 2025-26 season. He played 64 games and averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. He also averaged a league-leading 3.1 blocks per game, playing a key role in his unanimous Defensive Player of the Year award. He made the All-NBA First Team, and in MVP voting only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic finished ahead of him.
The San Antonio Spurs finished 62-20 and beat Oklahoma City in seven games to reach the Finals for the first time since 2014. Wembanyama took the Magic Johnson Trophy as conference finals MVP. New York won the Finals in five.
Wembanyama signed a five-year, $252.3 million extension in July, which includes a player option. He could have signed for the 30% supermax for up to potentially $303 million, but he took less.
France named Wembanyama captain on Aug. 19, replacing Rudy Gobert. At 22 he is the youngest player to hold the job since Parker took it in 2003.
Thursday at Bercy Arena in Paris ended a two-year absence from the French national team. His last official game had come at the 2024 Olympics. France lost the gold-medal game to the United States. A blood clot in his right shoulder ended his second NBA season in February 2025. He missed EuroBasket that summer.
He played 21 minutes against Slovenia and shot 6-of-10 from the field, 1-of-5 from 3-point range, and 9-of-10 at the line. He had 9 rebounds and 1 block. The win was France's sixth in seven qualifiers. No team in Group L has a better record.
Parker won four titles with the Spurs and was the Finals MVP in 2007.
France plays at Sweden on Sunday. The Spurs open the regular season Oct. 20 against Oklahoma City at Frost Bank Center. Tip-off is 8:30 p.m. CT on NBC and Peacock.
