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.

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.