Why Victor Wembanyama Is Still Everything the San Antonio Spurs Expected, Hoped For
OCT 18 - Houston Rockets forward Reggie Bullock has Victor Wembanyama marked and covered on a San Antonio Spurs fast break.
Wembanyama, the newest addition to an up-and-coming Spurs team, had just finished intercepting a cross court pass from Aaron Holiday for his lone steal of the night, and suddenly, Bullock stands seven feet from the generational rookie — his former short-term teammate.
Does he know that one wrong move would make him the next highlight reel of one of the most highly-touted rookies in basketball history? Is he even thinking about what happens if he misses a steal and lets the 7-4 French phenom blow by him?
Two queries that won't ever get answers, but the result ended up the same. Bullock stood firm, ready to react to whatever move Wembanyama attempted on him. Except he stood too wide. And that was all the Spurs rookie needed.
"Are you kidding me?" Space City Home Network announcer Ryan Hollins said as they watched the replay of Wembanyama nutmegging Reggie Bullock. "[He] went right through the pie-hole."
Oct 13, 2023; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) dribbles the ball up court during the first half against the Miami Heat at Frost Bank Center.
© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Wembanyama's impressive display of athleticism only further reinforced what he'd already proven time and time again: he was unique. Special. Talented.
But more than that, it only further proved his worth for the Spurs. He's exactly what San Antonio hoped for, and every game for the rookie shows that. Every game.
“I don’t want to limit myself to what’s conventional," Wembanyama said. "I want to expand my game as much as I can.
"I'd been visualizing that move for the [past few] weeks. It surprises the defender because it rarely happens, but it's also effective because it allows you to just go over the defender.
"It was exactly how I visualized it."
When the Spurs watched NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum read aloud the Charlotte Hornets' name as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, they visualized something, too.
They pictured a ring. Two rings — three, even. They pictured winning. They pictured confetti, champagne and an arena full of happy-crying Spurs fans celebrating another NBA title to add to their collection. At the forefront of that scene, however, was Wembanyama. Maybe slightly older, or maybe as young as he is now.
Regardless of timing, San Antonio pictured a winning franchise centered around the rookie, and thus far, that's exactly what they've gotten.
The best part for them, however, is that he pictures the same thing.
"It's no secret that it's very hard to win a [championship] ring," Wembanyama said. "But I'm patient. I know it will happen at one point or another."
Last month, I wrote a piece about Wembanyama's title aspirations. He gave a cookie-cutter quote about how much he wanted to win, and how he planned to make it happen, one way or another.
Then, Wembanyama was the future of the Spurs.
Now, he still is, but it's really beginning to show. And his teammates see that.
"He's is incredible to watch," McDermott said of his rookie teammate. "He does some things that you can't really explain. He's just so coordinated for how tall he is."
Between asking for an alley-oop from behind the 3-point line and Euro-stepping from the same point on offense, Wembanyama truly is unbelievable. So much so that commentators from the other team take extra time to re-watch a replay before audibly displaying their shock. So much so that one play called for him in the first half turns into a 20-point performance. But that's just Wembanyama.
And according to Gregg Popovich, that's just basketball for the rookie.
"He's a good basketball player," Popovich said. "He goes and plays. The NBA has nothing to do with it. It's basketball. He's smart, and ... he understands that he has a lot of attention on him, but it doesn't bother him. He just plays."
Through four preseason performances, Wembanyama has gone out and played, and played well. He's amassed numerous blocks on the defensive end while making things happen on offense — despite the added defensive attention. In the one game he hasn't played, the Spurs lost and looked noticeably different.
Without Wembanyama, San Antonio's offense is different. Less aggressive. Less exciting. That't not a knock on the players so much as an appraisal of the rookie's true impact. But chemistry is important, and the Spurs have that, too.
"[My teammates] have learned to play with me quicker than anywhere I've been before," Wembanyama said. "It comes down to how well we know each other."
When Reggie Bullock watched a 7-4 Victor Wembanyama rapidly approach him on a fast break, he was completely focused on covering all of his bases to get a stop, or at the very least, make things difficult for the rookie. He might have done so, too, had it not been for his stance. Bullock stood too wide, and before he realized it, the ball was between his legs and Wembanyama was sprinting around him.
As Bullock turned around to watch the play unfold, it hit him. He had become the next highlight reel for a generational rookie. A rookie who had shocked the league in every appearance to that point. Then, it hit him at the same time as it did the rest of the basketball world.
Wembanyama was everything the Spurs had hoped for. And then some.
