'Victor & The Others': How Wembanyama's 3rd Return Revealed More 'Scary' Than Positive for Spurs
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs' roster isn't constructed like a mid-2000s pop-rock group set to take the stage on a world tour.
It isn't focused on one single player, nor a single aspect of basketball. It's not uni-faceted, in any sense. It might feature Victor Wembanyama, who's taken the NBA world by storm standing 7-4 with an 8-foot wingspan.
He's been the front man of the Spurs since he was drafted. And more specifically, since he stepped foot on the San Antonio tarmac from his private flight to introduce him to the city for the first time. But he isn't the only story surrounding the NBA's youngest team — far from it, in fact.
That sentiment Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy made crystal clear.
Prior to facing his old team — serving as a Spurs assistant from 2015-2021 — the still-young head coach took questions about facing one of the game's most generational prospects. But instead of focusing solely on him, he opted to paint a bigger picture.
"We know how talented he is," Hardy said. "[But] keeping him at bay is only part of the plan. ... In no way is tonight's game about Victor Wembanyama."
"We [didn't] prep for [the Spurs] like it's Victor and the others ... they've got good players on their roster whop are all capable of going off in their own ways."
The line of questioning made sense, especially considering Wembanyama would be playing against a completely new team after missing the game prior. But while the Spurs did have an array of weapons that night, a lot of attention was turned on Wembanyama — and it wasn't the prettiest sight.
In fact, it was almost scary.
Dec 23, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) sits on the bench with teammates during the second quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.
© Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Victor's Scary Pre-Game Accident
With 6:46 left in the fourth quarter to close out their home stand against the New Orleans Pelicans, the San Antonio Spurs' chances at winning were slim-to-none.
The Spurs were down one bucket less than 40 points and were looking for any remnants of hope or momentum, which ideally would be provided from Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, Tre Jones or anybody else. Anybody.
But it wasn't Wembanyama. A missed cut that later went viral after Wembanyama air-dunked a pass he wished he had made sure of that, and later led to fan backlash calling for their rookie to get the ball in the paint. Missed reads happen, and don't typically in as exaggerated fashion as the one against the Pelicans, but it was a cause for concern.
And Jeremy Sochan was the first to comment on it.
"We've got to find stuff like that," Sochan said of missing Wembanyama down low. "We've got to do better. We've got to get the ball to him and let him work there. ... It's not like we don't want to pass it to him."
The latter point had been heavily debated. Some errant fans were accusing the non-Wembanyama Spurs of jealousy. Purposefully "missing" the rookie in an attempt to give themselves more time in the spotlight. That simply wasn't true.
Any time spent around the players makes that abundantly clear.
“We have a very healthy locker room, healthy [relationships] with each other," Wembanyama noted of San Antonio's team chemistry — and not on just one occasion. "This is not an issue at all."
Sochan also emphasized how close-knit the Spurs were to each other, but any chance he had to show it on the court was taken away just a few minutes prior to tipoff of the next game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Wembanyama was going through his typical practice routines. Post-ups, 3-pointers and fast-break simulations. As he layed a ball into the net on one of many reps, however, he landed wrong. On the foot of an onlooking Mavericks employee — a ball boy.
And he was out for the game.
"He probably could have played" Popovich said following the game. "If it was a playoff game, I probably would have played him. He’s not happy about it, but I would rather err on the conservative side since it’s the same ankle that he just got a time limitation on. Just a freak accident before the game."
The somber tune of the 28th-year coach turned into a sing-song one the next game.
"If you're going to be a ball boy, be more nimble," Popovich said with a laugh.
Wembanyama later revealed he had no ill will toward the employee, nor Popovich. He was just competitive, and wanted to play with his teammates. But he understood.
"We think about the long run," Wembanyama said. "Coach told me after I was going to sit out that my career is bigger ... than just a game against Dallas. We had to be smart."
Dec 23, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich speaks with San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.
© Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Safe to say, Wembanyama's teammates agreed.
"It's tough," Sochan said. "It's a weird one. You never really see that. We were just hoping that he was good. ... There's no need to risk something that he'd hurt before. I'm just happy that he was good. In the end, it's important that everyone stays healthy."
Wembanyama was healthy the day of the incident, and throughout the entire game he watched from the sidelines. He was just being "cautious."
But back at home against the Jazz, he got his chance to return.
Victor's 'Scary' Return
Hardy sat in a solo chair crammed into a small interview room 90 minutes prior to tipoff.
He and his players were ready to go, but standing between them and a road win was one player in particular, who was also more than ready to hit the hardwood once again.
In fact, he stood 7-4 and hailed from Le Chesnay, France.
"You can't simulate a player like that," Hardy said of facing Wembanyama for the first time of the season. "There's nothing I can do in our practice gym or a shoot-around to simulate his size, length and athleticism. ... I think it's going to take a minute for the team to get used to him. I assume there are going to be one or two plays tonight that I [nor] our team have seen or felt before."
Hardy's conjecture came true relatively quickly. Play No. 1 for the standout rookie came on the Spurs' first offensive possession of the contest. As he drove to the basket — all defensive attention on him — all signs pointed toward a contested layup. If that ended up being the case, Utah had nothing in its arsenal, or no one, to effectively affect his shot. But Wembanyama didn't opt for an attempted basket.
Instead, he flipped it all the way across half-court to a wide-open Julian Champagnie on the left wing. The second-year forward knocked down the shot to open up scoring for San Antonio and off the two teams went to the races.
Both teams went back-and-forth, though most of the game was controlled by the Jazz, who clung to a small lead up until the better part of the fourth quarter. But before that, with 9:35 left to play in the third, Wembanyama once again made his presence felt.
John Collins received a pass in the left corner and loaded up a 3-point shot. It left his hands unscathed, but it missed. Collins' arc ended about 10-feet short, which sent the crowd into a collective gasp as they realized that Wembanyama — who was jumping up from afar — did in fact get a hand on the ball to block it.
Despite his impressive plays and relative success against Utah, Wembanyama was also still nursing his ankle injury. And Popovich took notice.
"He didn't look 100 percent to me," the coach said. "But he [said] he feels fine."
One-hundred percent or not, San Antonio lost to the Jazz. Badly. And while the issue wasn't because of Wembanyama, the rookie's return made some things clear.
Probably clearer than it would have liked.
San Antonio's Scary Reality
Adding back Victor Wembanyama was supposed to make things easier for the Spurs.
Being without him in Dallas nearly sunk any chances of San Antonio pulling a win, especially with such late notice. Because of his absence, the Spurs had an excuse for falling short. That hadn't been the case for many other losses they'd already endured, but it was against the Mavericks.
And what about the Jazz?
Once again, San Antonio fell short in a game it very easily could have won. The Spurs started hot and rallied behind Julian Champagnie and Wembanyama early on, but they couldn't get the job done. And that on its own has left the team with questions still yet to be answered.
"I don't know," Wembanyama said when asked about what the biggest thing holding his team back from success was. "If we knew, we'd correct it right away."
Dec 26, 2023; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) dunks in front of Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) in the second half at Frost Bank Center.
© Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports
Popovich searched for answers in the same way each of the players did. He'd watched idly from the sidelines while his team went on a franchise-worst losing streak of 18 games. He'd watched Wembanyama in practice and worked with the players on gelling and meshing, but nothing came of it. Not on the record, at least.
The Spurs' latest loss in Utah sparked some interesting questions for the coach, however. And in an attempt to think through it, he let on a little of how he was beginning to feel, in full honesty.
"We're still searching for consistency," the coach said. "We go in spurts and really haven't matured enough to understand that winning an NBA game is difficult. ... You can't be consistent on offense and execute on defense for [just] 20 minutes. You're not going to win that way."
"Part of it is youth," he added. "[But] part of it is I need to demand [more] from certain people. It's time they have to be more consistent or I make changes."
Change could come in a variety of ways. Zach Collins was already relegated to the bench, as was Keldon Johnson in the latest of San Antonio's experiments. Before that, Sochan was moved away from being a primary point guard.
So, what comes next?
The answer to that isn't one the Spurs want to find out.
"We always talk about being young, but there's a fine line with that," Sochan said. "We've got to be better. More active. Quick with everything. There's moments where we just don't do that, so as a team, we've got to be better. We've got to be hungry."
Adding Wembanyama back and still coming up short wasn't the ideal way to welcome back the rookie from his third absence of the season. The Spurs hoped for more against the Jazz. But even with the shortcomings, their cadence remains the same.
"It's a next-game mentality," Sochan said. "We've got to get this game [behind] us and just play our game. Keep pounding the rock."
And while that doesn't focus solely on Wembanyama, it starts with him. He is San Antonio's frontman, after all, and he knows it. That's why he — like Johnson — is remaining positive. He's remaining a steadfast leader, complete with on-court talent, accountability and poise.
"Before the coaches talk to us at halftime or after the game, we always have a little talk only between us players," Wembanyama said. "We try to reassure [ourselves] and keep our heads up. Everyone is still locked in."
Wembanyama is ready to take charge, but also keep his team involved. The Spurs' roster isn't constructed like a mid-2000s pop-rock band.t's not "Victor and the others." It's the Spurs. The San Antonio Spurs.
And they know that, too.
"Together, we've got to support each other as teammates," Wembanyama said. "We have [to have] a good spirit."
