PUEBLO, Colo. – On Wednesday night, two-time reigning World Champion Jose Vitor Leme held up a black and green Austin Gamblers jersey and grinned.
Could it be that Leme will be riding in an Austin Gamblers jersey once the inaugural PBR Team Series begins on July 25-26 at Cheyenne Frontier Days?
There is a very strong possibility Leme will be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2022 PBR Team Series Draft, presented by ZipRecruiter, on May 23 when the Austin Gamblers take the stage inside Texas Live!
Leme knows how prestigious an honor it would be to hear his name called first in Arlington, Texas, if he declares for the PBR Team Series Draft, and it is a privilege he says he will not take for granted.
“Honestly, I am so excited for that possibility, to see if I would be the No. 1 pick or not,” Leme said. “If they make me the No. 1 pick, I would be for sure so happy. That means I have been doing a great job, and I am excited. I am so excited for that. That will be different for everybody. For fans, for the riders. I think Teams will be good to grow the sport. That would put bull riding at the next level.”
The Gamblers have not been shy about showing their possible hand regarding Leme. The team had Leme, 2019 Rookie of the Year Dalton Kasel and 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis in Austin this week for the team’s local launch party at Republic Square.
Michael Gaffney has had his eyes on Leme ever since the 1997 PBR World Champion was selected as the Gamblers’ inaugural head coach in January.
Gaffney’s eyes lit up in Sacramento, California, when he saw Leme ride in person for the first time this year.
“He is a specimen,” Gaffney said. “What else can you say? There are not many weaknesses in his game. He is your franchise player and is a guy you can surround everybody with. He is going to be such a force to have. Guys are going to be inspired just by being around his aura. He is someone we can build with.”
Leme is a two-time PBR World Champion, a two-time PBR World Finals event winner, and has 23 premier series event wins to go along with 58 90-point rides. Leme, currently the No. 4-ranked bull rider in the world, is 210-for-384 (60.34%) in his premier series career since winning the 2017 PBR World Finals just 10 days after first arriving in the United States.
Still, some have wondered if the Gamblers would consider 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco, who was in attendance at the Nashville Stampede’s launch party three weeks ago, with the No. 1 selection. Pacheco seems poised to potentially join Leme in the two-time World Champion club and sits at No. 3 in the world standings.
“It does beg the question with a guy like Pacheco in the mix: would you consider him?” Gaffney said in Tacoma, Washington, earlier this month. “But Jose is our guy. He is our guy. If you start to think that way from a business perspective, that will mean something would be wrong with your guy. Once you have your guy, you have your guy.”
LEME OUT FOR BILLINGS; WILL BE READY FOR WORLD FINALS
Leme was a late scratch from this coming weekend’s PBR Cooper Tires Invitational, presented by Ariat, regular-season finale in Billings, Montana. He decided late Tuesday to withdraw from the event because of a right groin injury.
The Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil, native aggravated an old injury during his 85.25-point ride on Ranch Water last weekend in Nampa, Idaho, and underwent a precautionary MRI this week.
Leme, who missed the first three events of 2022 because of a right groin/core muscle injury, explained that he is being cautious with the injury after learning the risks of coming back too soon from a groin injury last year.
The two-time PBR World Finals event winner is only 238 points behind world leader Joao Ricardo Vieira.
At the Finals this year in Fort Worth, Texas (May 13-22), one rider can earn a maximum of 1,272 world points by winning every round (80 world points per round win), the event average (560 world points), and scoring 90 or more points in an 8-for-8 performance.
Last year, Leme overcame a core muscle injury to go 6-for-6 and win the World Finals and his second gold buckle.
“It is bothering me, and I don’t want to take this risk,” Leme said of his groin injury. “I want to be 100% for the (World) Finals. I’m not going to go to the Velocity Tour Finals.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko