'The Next Step Is Winning': Despite Continuous Woes, Spurs' Hopeful Mindset Hasn't Changed
SAN ANTONIO — As Victor Wembanyama emerged from the back tunnels of Frost Bank Center Thursday evening — the way he always does — something felt a little different.
Yes, the San Antonio Spurs were facing Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, which meant the rookie was getting his first look at the 7-foot power forward with actual game time, and yes, it was the Spurs' first game at home in 2024. But the difference wasn't sparked by either of those two things.
It was something a little more sentimental.
Wembanyama — as surprising as it may sound given the vast accomplishments he already has to his name — was a freshly-minted non-teenager. It was his birthday.
He was 20.
And he was smiling.
© Matt Guzman-InsideTheSpurs.com
The 7-4 rookie trotted onto the court past the fans that usually await him on either side of the tunnel's railings — their excitement the same but their tune different — as they added some birthday-based messages among their usual cheers
Then, their excitement rose even higher.
Wembanyama listened as every fan in the arena began singing "Happy Birthday" to him in unison. His smile never faded while he listened and clapped along, but also when he began to warm up, first with dribbling exercises and then shooting drills.
The happiness on his face even remained while he scored 27 points against Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, though it took the form of some mean-mugging and flexing instead of teeth-baring, as the rookie made the highlight reel numerous times en route to an extremely efficient, and impressive, birthday performance.
Wembanyama didn't know it during warm ups, but every time he made a highlight play, so, too, would the 7-footer standing across from him on the other team.
"He showed up to play tonight like he always does," Spurs forward Keldon Johnson said after the game. "It's a good feeling [that] gets the competitive juices flowing to see those two going at it."
An hour prior to tipoff, nothing had happened just yet, but both Wembanyama and Antetokounmpo were set to put on a show. Only one of them would get to come out victorious, however, and Wembanyama really wanted it to be him.
Oh man, did he want it.
Jan 4, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) watches a pre-game shot fall at Frost Bank Center ahead of facing the Bucks.
© Matt Guzman-InsideTheSpurs.com
Victor x Giannis: Trying to Best the Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks coach Adrian Griffin might not know how tall Victor Wembanyama is, but he knew exactly how lethal he could be for a defense.
That, he made very clear from the get-go.
"He’s special," Griffin explained to a cramped media room inside Frost Bank Center filled with reporters from both sides. “He’s a 7-6 guy that can shoot, post-up and handle. … It’ll be interesting to see how our guys to adjust to him.”
After the matchup, Antetokounmpo only echoed what his coach expressed.
"I’ve never seen anything like him,” he said. “7-4, 7-5 ... I don’t know how tall he is. [But] he’s not 7-3. He’s way taller than 7-3. Whoever says he’s 7-3, that's a lie.
"You haven’t seen anything like that. I know I haven’t."
Standing 7-3, 7-4 or even 7-9 — as some websites declared him prior to his first NBA action — Wembanyama defined what it meant to be generational. And as a result, he garners a certain level of preparation, especially for a team's first exposure to him.
But that goes for every team, right?
On paper, yes. Every team has Wembanyama highlighted, circled and underlined prior to facing him. Every team knows how much of an impact he has on a game of NBA basketball, even with such little experience in the league.
The Bucks just took special care.
"[Wembanyama] can do it all," Griffin said. "It'll be interesting to see how our guys adjust to him. It's not every day you get to play someone with his unique physical abilities ... outside of Giannis."
Milwaukee knew better than any team how important it would be to adjust to and account for Wembanyama because they had a talent like his.
And while Griffin dodged making a direct comparison between the two foreign bigs, he certainly acknowledged the duo's similarities.
"[They're] two of the most unique talented big men," the Bucks coach explained. "But I use that loosely because they’re very versatile players."
Giannis Antetokounmpo was a slightly-less advertised version of Wembanyama before most NBA-watchers even knew Wembanyama was coming. He was a lanky, mobile power forward standing as tall as a center, but he was also a big risk.
At least, that's what half of the league thought before Milwaukee grabbed him with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 Draft.
But once it did, he began working and didn't look back.
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) warms up at Frost Bank Center prior to facing the San Antonio Spurs.
© Matt Guzman-InsideTheSpurs.com
Eleven seasons, 40 pounds of muscle, two league MVPs and a championship trophy later, Antetokounmpo stood at the free throw line inside Frost Bank Center.
He took a basketball from a Spurs ball boy, eyed the rim with a pondering-concentration, lined up his shot and sank a free throw.
Then, he did it again.
It was all a part of his usual routine — beginning hours before he even touches the hardwood — and while facing Wembanyama on his 20th birthday marked a special occasion for the fans in attendance, it was just another day for him.
He was as ready as Wembanyama was, if not more, which was evident almost instantly.
Wembanyama got the first points of the game as he was fouled to get an early trip to the free throw line that Antetokounmpo stood on not an hour before, but it wasn't long before the Bucks star struck back.
Antetokounmpo scored off of a pass from Brook Lopez to even the score at two points a piece, and from there, the back-and-forth ensued. In all of its glory.
"Giannis dunk[ed] one, Vic dunk[ed] one. One got an And-1, the other got [one]," Devin Vassell said following the game. "They were going back-and-forth all game, and Vic showed the courage and heart that he has.
"I think he sent a statement not only to Giannis, but to the whole league."
Jan 4, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots over San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the second half at Frost Bank Center.
© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Sending a statement looked a variety of ways throughout the matchup, but perhaps none was more clear than in the second quarter, when Wembanyama made a ball-handling error.
It didn't cause a turnover or force the Spurs into a bad shot, but it did leave Wembanyama stranded in the middle of the half-court lane without a dribble.
So, he did what he had to.
Wembanyama tossed the ball off the glass with enough power for it to ricochet back at him. Before making its way back into the rookie's hands, however, it scraped off the edge of the rim with enough force to alter its trajectory.
But Wembanyama caught it anyways.
"I'm resourceful," the rookie said of the play with a smile. "Even with no dribble, I can do some stuff."
It wasn't long before Antetokounmpo clapped back with a highlight play of his own — getting a dunk over Wembanyama — but regardless of the who was making the play, it kept both the present crowd and those watching the two stars from afar, engaged.
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) loses faces off against Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama.
© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Even both sets of teammates couldn't help but marvel in the generational face-off.
“I love to see that from young guys, to be competing," Bucks guard Khris Middleton said. "[They're] not scared of the moment, not scared of taking the shot, making the move or making it past. Just taking the chance.
"[Wembanyama] loves the challenge, and that’s going to be big for him moving forward.”
Vassell wholeheartedly agreed.
"He's here," the guard said. "He's ready for the moment."
The moment seemed to last the entirety of the 48 minutes that both teams went at it. Wembanyama was still on a minutes restriction — a byproduct of his freak accident prior to facing off against the Dallas Mavericks — so he wasn't on the floor for that entire time.
But he didn't need to be. The rookie felt like he got his best shot regardless.
"Today was satisfying to me," Wembanyama said. "We really had a rhythm at some points. ... I can't spend the whole game on the floor," he added. "But it felt like I made those minutes count. That [was] pretty much as good as we can do until I can play full minutes."
Behind Wembanyama, San Antonio played its most complete game of basketball it had all-season long. Up to that point, the Spurs were the youngest team in the NBA with the least amount of wins and nothing but a promise to improve.
After a home-stunner against Milwaukee, it still fit into the first two categories, but the latter one began to be a looser descriptor. Suddenly, the Spurs followed through on its promise. That centered around Wembanyama and how Gregg Popovich's team rallied around its new frontman. That much was different.
But what about Wembanyama himself? How much did he learn from facing Giannis?
Evidently, a lot.
In fact, he learned arguably the most he had all season in one game.
"I'm trying to gain knowledge from as many great players [as I can]," the rookie said. "Giannis is one of them. One of the players I watch the most. He makes [use] of 100 percent of what he can do with his body. He's somebody that I grew up watching and one of the greatest players in the world."
And if "the block heard around the world" wasn't enough proof of how unique and exciting the matchup was to Antetokounmpo as well, he made sure to clarify it.
“He’s unbelievable,” the Bucks star said of Wembanyama directly after the game. “[He's] an unbelievable talent. He can score at will, anytime he wants. Plays the right way. Plays to win. It was good to play against him."
Jan 4, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) dunks during the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Frost Bank Center.
© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Antetokounmpo claimed Wembanyama needed no advice when asked a few minutes after the matchup had concluded — a statement that the rookie took as a half-truthed compliment — but did give his initial impressions of the 7-footer's career trajectory.
"He’s special," Antetokounmpo said. "He’s got to stay healthy. ... seeing him play against NBA players and doing the things that he’s doing, it’s pretty amazing. ... Everything that he dreams of is going to happen for him."
And like he had growing up, Wembanyama hung on the foreign superstar's words.
"I think what he means is that I don't need to change anything [drastically]," Wembanyama said. "I appreciate that he recognizes that I'm healthy physically and mentally, so I know that I'm on the right path. But that doesn't mean it's going to be easy. So, I appreciate it.
"Thank you."
Wembanyama delivered the performance he had hoped to give. Maybe part of it was a little extra birthday swagger, but for the most part, it was just him being him. Antetokounmpo and the rest of the Bucks knew that, as did the Spurs.
Still, only one of the 7-foot bigs got the win. And it wasn't Wembanyama.
Tre's Missed Trey
The difference between a fourth-straight loss and a chance at overtime against the Milwaukee Bucks came down to a missed corner 3-pointer.
Normally, San Antonio didn't come close enough for that small of a play to be a determining factor. In fact, it had more blowout losses than victories. But — like Wembanyama felt prior to tipoff — his matchup with Antetokounmpo was different than a normal matchup, for a few reasons.
One was his birthday — that was an easy one. Another was the added attention that came with a nationally-televised game, but the third was the level of effort and execution. That was at an all-time high all evening.
The Spurs' third-quarter resilience proved that.
"We did start the first couple of minutes a little bit slow," Wembanyama said of his team's second-half start. "But I'm glad we got it back together. During the game, that's one of our main focus points."
Third quarters haven't been particularly kind to the NBA's youngest squad. More than few times, the Spurs were able to keep up with their opponents for at least the first quarter, if not the entire first half.
But when it came to third quarters, games slipped away from them — they knew that.
So, what made the difference?
“Just executing," Johnson said, putting it simply. "I feel like we just had to bear down. We tied it up in the third quarter. Teams always make runs and it's hard for us to respond. Hopefully, we can look at what we did in the third quarter and replicate it in games going forward.”
Sure, a large part of San Antonio's ability to compete for a full four quarters — including the typically-woeful third — was due to strong execution on a game plan that's largely remained the same throughout the season.
But more specifically, it had to do with one player who finally got a chance to prove himself in a role he hadn't been given at all leading up to that point: Tre Jones.
Popovich might not admit it, but San Antonio's game plan had to be tweaked by adding Jones to a starting lineup that had never featured him in the Wembanyama era. And that it did.
But even with the added responsibility, Jones wasn't treating his first start of the season with any more attention than the other 29 games he'd played.
Not at all.
"Every single day I’m trying to prove myself to everybody," Jones said at shoot-around ahead of the Spurs' matchup against the Bucks. "Myself included. I’m trying to play to the best of my ability and do what the team asks me to do."
Jan 4, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones (33) drives to the basket while defended by Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton (8) during the second half at Frost Bank Center.
© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
That looked different throughout the game for Jones, whether he liked it or not. And regardless of his role, he had his teammates' full support.
"Tre brings a different energy," Vassell said. "When we're in transition, he's always looking up and trying to find others. He knows when and where to find you. [He's] a true point guard, and the energy he brings is huge for us."
As such, Jones made the start and began the game being asked to facilitate an offense that was already down two key pieces in Zach Collins and Malaki Branham. In the second quarter, he was asked to help keep San Antonio afloat as Antetokounmpo did his thing down low. And in the third, the same was true.
But in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, that changed entirely.
Hot on the heels of the Bucks, who had stormed back behind two straight 3-pointers from Antetokounmpo, the Spurs found themselves down by three points after Wembanyama denied a shot from the Bucks' big man at the rim.
Vassell had the ball off the inbound after San Antonio advanced it, and his goal was to get the ball to Wembanyama for the final shot of the game — though if he had it his way, he would've taken the shot himself.
"I'm not going to sit here and say I didn't want the shot," Vassell said after the game. "If it was perfect, it would have happened, but that's not the NBA. That's not basketball."
Vassell opted to play basketball and not hero-ball — which was a notable display of leadership on its own — and passed the ball to Wembanyama. But, like his veteran teammate, the rookie didn't shoot, either. He passed it.
Suddenly, a wide-open Jones had the ball in the corner with the game on the line and all of the pressure in the world on his shoulders.
And he missed.
Milwaukee survived the scare that San Antonio gave it and flew back home with a win to break a two-game losing streak while the Spurs fell short for the fourth straight time. It was a different story, but the same end result. They were losers. Again.
That didn't stop them from picking up their teammate, who was visibly frustrated at the buzzer, and keeping their heads high.
"It just so happened Tre missed a shot," Johnson said. "It's a great shot, it's wide open. ... he didn't make it, but we believe in him to make that shot. That's why he's on the court at the end of the game."
Vassell seconded Johnson's vote of confidence.
"I've seen Tre knock down that shot multiple times," Vassell said. "I told him to keep his head up because at the end of the day, he's wide open. Shoot the ball."
San Antonio might not have walked away with the result it hoped for — and had been hoping for all season — but it was still far from done trying. It wasn't ready to throw in the towel after one close loss to Milwaukee.
In fact, losing to the Bucks was a silver lining in disguise.
Win Together, Lose Together, Fight Together
Gregg Popovich refused to take a seat for his post-game press conference that night.
In less than 60 seconds, the 27-year veteran coach entered the media room, spoke his mind, insisted that no reporters ask questions and extended a half-sarcastic invitation to some post-game defeat drinks.
It wasn't an ideal night for Popovich nor his team — who fell just short of a game they finally kept up in the entire time — but he did offer some positive takeaways before seeing himself out after a shortened availability.
"It was a great game," he said. "I couldn't be more proud of the group. They did a lot of great things. ... There's nothing I didn't love about any of them."
Jan 4, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich yells out to players during the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Frost Bank Center.
© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
As much as the loss stung, the Spurs had put up their best game of the season. They remained poised even after falling short, and did what they'd become accustomed to all season: supporting one another.
But as proud as he was, Popovich still delivered the harsh truth.
"Sometimes the calls go for you, and sometimes they go against you," he said. "But you've got to live with it. That was a tough one to be called at the very end of the game when our guys were right there.
"You live with it and you move on. That's the way it is."
In a similar light, the Spurs had to come to terms with a fate that had already been decided even weeks before facing the Bucks. They weren't going to make the playoffs or have a turnaround season the way that some anticipated they would.
Every game for them was a chance to develop and maybe scratch a win, but the expectations for their team growth was down to a minimum — though the lower the outside expectations got, the closer San Antonio was on the inside.
Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) dunks against the Milwaukee Bucks at Frost Bank Center.
© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
"We're a family at the end of the day," Johnson said. "To be in that moment is definitely what you play the game of basketball for. As a competitor like myself, that's what I look forward to."
Johnson had already been asked to take on a unique responsibility over the last few seasons being the team's best playmaker. He was the one who caught blame when San Antonio didn't perform well, or the one thrown under the bus as an explanation for its woes.
"A team can't go anywhere with Keldon Johnson as its best player."
The forward had heard it all, but never let it affect him. Instead, he lead with even more grace, even when that leadership looked like coming off the bench as a reliable source of instant offense.
Even then, Johnson put the team first. And he remained positive doing it.
"We'll live to fight another day," Johnson said. "We're going to continue stay together. We're going to continue to fight together, win together and lose together. That's what we're going to focus on, and hopefully, some of the games fall our way."
The Spurs don't have anything figured out, nor will they anytime soon. They're continuing to stick together throughout the process, however, which starts with Vassell and Wembanyama on the front line — both of which have adopted a similar mindset to Johnson.
"[The next step] is winning," Vassell said. "I could have 30, 40, 50 or 60 and if we don't win, it really doesn't matter. At the end of the day, we just have to win. It was a great game for everybody. ... We just have to watch film and learn how to close out a game."
Learning has been the key word for the Spurs throughout their experiment-heavy year. They've had to learn to work without a "traditional" point guard, adjust to having a 7-4 mobile weapon down low as well as deal with the added attention he brings.
Overcoming all of that and remaining so future-oriented has been largely due to Wembanyama himself, but if you ask him, he'll point you to another one of his teammates almost every time.
"It's [been] great to see Devin's development over the last few years, but also this season," Wembanyama told reporters in French. I can see that our duo can become very interesting and it's developing. Devin has the confidence of all his teammates and his entire staff.
"He’s part of the future of the franchise."
Jan 2, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) reacts with center Victor Wembanyama (1) during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum.
© Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Vassell's second 30-point game in the last few weeks was solid proof of that, especially considering he hadn't been able to crack the mark in the years before his big-time contract extension. In fact, as strong as he's looked, his eventual breakout stretch is more of a when than an if.
And when it does happen, Wembanyama will be there to complement it, as will Johnson and the rest of the Spurs — who are all part of a family hell-bent on winning.
"Just the fact that we could compete with a championship-level team like this is promising," Wembanyama said. "It's the first thing Pop told us coming back to the locker room. We had some moments where everything seemed to work out."
Wembanyama isn't worried. He's experienced winning before — he's even admitted to feeling addicted to the feeling — at the professional level, and he's going to do what it takes to experience that again. Milwaukee was just the beginning of what the Spurs hope can become a more-common trend.
But even if not, the Spurs will rally together. They'll support each other like family and never stop reminding themselves of the end goal: winning.
That's the next step, and San Antonio is more than ready to embrace it.
"We're trying to compete every game," Vassell said. "If we got three stops, it could have been a totally different game. If we got three buckets, it would have been a totally different game. We're just learning that.
"We're going to be good."
