Victor Wembanyama embraces spotlight and expectations that come with

NEW YORK — Victor Wembanyama said hello, but it felt like, “Hello, world” — as in the moment another sport changed when an athlete who looked nothing like his predecessors or peers signaled a seismic shift in it.

That was once Tiger Woods in his initial Nike commercial. Wembanyama, in the flesh, in America, one day before assuredly becoming the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, started to take stock of everything around him.

He confidently walked to the podium inside a hotel ballroom for his standalone media session Wednesday morning, while the other green room draftees were shuffled together in a separate ballroom — waiting for his availability to end so they could have a slice of time.

“Whoa, he’s tall as f***,” one unnamed prospect was overheard saying of Wembanyama. “I didn’t think he was that big.”

All the footage for the 7-foot-4 phenom can barely do him justice. His height stands out but he’s no string bean, despite his 220-pound listing. Wembanyama carries a presence that indicates an awareness of not just his size but also what he signifies, potentially: a new day in a changing, morphing NBA.

He’s almost like a created player in a video game — explosive off the bounce, with handles and a jump shot that looks sound. He also can protect the rim and has an aptitude that suggests it won’t be as rough of a transition to the NBA as other foreign players, even those who’ve turned out to be great.

But before he steps on stage to reach down to shake commissioner Adam Silver’s hand as the San Antonio Spurs’ next big centerpiece, following in the footsteps of David Robinson and Tim Duncan, he had to take a slice of New York life.

He rode the crowded New York subway, then went to Yankee Stadium to throw out the first pitch in Tuesday evening’s baseball game. For a 19-year-old, he certainly feels comfortable in his own skin even though he’s in a very foreign place.

“That was so much fun,” Wembanyama said. “I just know I love the…