Spurs Rookie Victor Wembanyama's Summer League Debut: 'I Didn't Know What I Was Doing!'
The San Antonio Spurs saw something deeper than the stat sheet can go on Friday in their Summer League showcase 76-68 win against the Charlotte Hornets
“All in all, I think he did a good job," Spurs summer league coach Matt Nielsen said. "You can see his basketball IQ is elite."
What made this game different than the other two, other than the location change from Sacramento to Las Vegas, was the presence of "him" ... No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama ... and "Wemby" offered a different evaluation of himself.
"Honestly, I didn't really know what I was doing on the court tonight," he admitted. "I'm trying to learn for next game."
Wembanyama did struggle on offense. He scored just nine points on 2 of 13 shooting in 27 minutes of action. He also had eight rebounds, three assists and five blocks. Those five blocks maybe best demonstrating both that IQ ... and the fact that he's 7-3.
Even though Wembanyama didn't play like he may have wanted to, there's still a lot to celebrate for the Spurs. As he said himself: “Special moment ... Really special to wear that jersey for a first time. It’s really an honor.”
Julian Champagnie continued his strong play from Sacramento with a team-high 20 points, while fellow second-year pro Malaki Branham added 17.
For the Hornets, No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Can Spurs fan look at this game and feel a little disappointed? That seems harsh. Wembanyama is a generational prospect and looked like something less than that ... until we look deeper. This is just one Summer League game after a whirlwind tour that had the Frenchman dealing with a silly Britney Spears allegation on one end and on Saturday will have him sharing the stage in a panel discussion with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
There's still plenty of basketball left to be played by the No. 1 overall pick in Las Vegas and beyond; Wembanyama and the Spurs return to action Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. But there's much more than that. There's "elite IQ." There are the natural tools. And there's much "to learn."
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