Victor Wembanyama Comes Alive Late in Foul-Ridden NBA Debut

Despite only playing in 23 minutes on Wednesday night, the Spurs rookie gave NBA fans a taste of what he has to offer.

Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama made his NBA debut on Wednesday night, and although it was mostly distracted by the No. 1 draft pick’s foul trouble, fans still got a taste of what he has to offer.

The 7’4” center finished with 15 points, five rebounds, two steals, two assists and one major block that came within a minute of his start on Wednesday. The Spurs ended up losing 126–119 in the close matchup against the Mavericks to begin the 2023–24 season.

Wembanyama did all of this in just 23 minutes of play as his time was very limited due to him getting his fifth foul of the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter. NBA fans were not happy with Wembanyama sitting for what seemed like a huge chunk of his debut. Check out some of the social media reaction.

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when Wembanyama's on the bench pic.twitter.com/BnnPsDuDMT

— matt ufford (@mattufford) October 26, 2023

We’re gonna have to hear about Wembanyama being in foul trouble for his NBA debut for the next 15 years.

— ™️Marcus  (@TheMisterMarcus) October 26, 2023

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich decided to bring him back to the court with about seven minutes left in the game. Wembanyama quickly made an alley-oop, followed by a three-pointer. His nine points in the fourth quarter were more than he scored in the first three quarters combined.

Despite him being limited in his debut, fans were still generally excited with Wembanyama’s performance and about what’s to come.

5 quick points from Wemby has the Dallas lead down to 2 🔥

📺: Spurs-Mavs | Live on ESPN | #KiaTipOff23 pic.twitter.com/p4CMd7si32

— NBA (@NBA) October 26, 2023

Spurs fans watching Wemby in the 4Q pic.twitter.com/qo7XUmQNmG

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 26, 2023

You gotta be kidding me Wemby pic.twitter.com/YpLv1ccNFh

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) October 26, 2023

Yes, it wasn’t his best game. However:

- still shot 6/9 from the field
- crowd was electric
- defensive presence was there

The future is bright! pic.twitter.com/R9HujA2Rsg

— WembyMuse (@Wemby_Muse) October 26, 2023

A man 7-4 shooting threes on a regular. Victor Wembanyama is like a damn created player on NBA2K 😭

— Antwan V. Staley (@antwanstaley) October 26, 2023