'I Want to Be the Bad Guy': Spurs' Victor Wembanyama Is A Fierce Competitor, And Gregg Popovich Loves It
SAN ANTONIO — Even if "The Monster" that Jeremy Sochan was warned about entering his rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs did in fact exist, Victor Wembanyama still wouldn't be afraid of it.
Gregg Popovich has earned himself a reputation across the league — one that isn't exactly the friendliest for those not classified as current or former players — and while his press availabilities only reinforce that, there is something to be said about the stark contrast between his persona from the outside looking in, and the inside.
Whether it's Tum Duncan, Tony Parker, Monty Williams, Steve Kerr or any of the opposing coaches that step into the too-small visiting media room at Frost Bank Center, Popovich has a worthy insider rep and several accounts of his greatness.
And that's nothing to glance over.
Victor Wembanyama is the latest prospect to praise the coach, though he has his entire rookie season to this point — more than most, in fact.
"It's really special," Wembanyama said of playing under Popovich back during Summer League. "I feel like he thinks this is going to be a special time, too. I could follow him with my eyes closed."
But even with the strongest profession of faith out of any player on Popovich's young roster, Wembanyama is still young. He's 20 years old, and generational prospect or not, he's emotionally driven.
That was clear during the Spurs' matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Dec 23, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich speaks with rookie center Victor Wembanyama (1) before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.
© Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
With 1:46 to play in the final period of San Antonio's road matchup, two things were clear: the Spurs were going to pick up their third straight loss, and Wembanyama was done for the evening, as were the remainder of the young squad's starters.
But Wembanyama wasn't ready to accept either.
“I wasn't allowed to sub in, but I still did it," he said after the game when asked about the reasoning behind his late-game check-in. "The coach sent me out right after."
San Antonio's 20-year-old frontman was in the game for a total of 46 seconds before he was sat right back on the bench in favor of Blake Wesley, but in that time, he did force a bad shot by the Grizzlies and score a quick two-handed dunk on the other end. And no, Popovich wasn't visibly mad. But it certainly wasn't a good look.
He understood regardless, however. Just as he asserted Wembanyama did.
“Everybody wants to play,” the veteran coach said. “[Wembanyama] doesn’t want to sit on the bench. Definitely, he is frustrated with the minutes-restriction, but he’s also intelligent enough to understand that long-term is what we are interested in."
"When I brought him out, he totally understood," Popovich added. "He didn’t like it, but he understood ... I am glad he didn’t like it.”
It makes sense. Wembanyama made it his goal prior to the season to be better than any other top pick before him. That meant better at basketball, better in the locker room, better with the fans and even better with the media. He wanted to do it all.
So how was he supposed to do that with a 24-minute max-out?
Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) warms up before facing the Bucks at Frost Bank Center.
© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
The Spurs rookie could prepare all he wanted in the film room, practice all he wanted at the VictoryCapital Performance Center and even warm up for as long as time allowed before games, whether it be at home or on the road.
But no matter what, he would only able to play for a set amount of time.
No matter the circumstances.
“Of course, I want to play," Wembanyama said. "But I know the wise option is to listen to the staff ... We can't get mistaken on this."
Wembanyama is right. If something were to happen to him physically because of a rushed attempt to get him back on the floor in the midst of a season that's already seen the Spurs' loss totals in the 20s, the consequences would stem far beyond just one season.
That's why he sits patiently on the bench in the middle of the third quarter, or sometimes at the end of games while the rest of his teammates try to scratch out a win — though against the Bucks, his minutes did work out for him to go toe-to-toe with Giannis Antetokounmpo to close out the game. And that, he loved.
"Today was satisfying to me," Wembanyama said immediately after his team's nail-biting loss to the Bucks. "I can't spend the whole game on the floor, 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."
Wembanyama's love for the game is one of the many reasons he's such an interesting talent. Not only does he have the skill, but he has the passion.
The competitive fire.
“At the end of the day, we are all competitors, we all want to win," Spurs shooting guard Devin Vassell said. "If you feel like you are in a position to where you can help that team, you are going to do whatever you can and want to do."
For San Antonio's rookie, that took the form of an impulsive choice to see more game action against Ja Morant and the Grizzlies. And his teammates supported it.
"I didn’t know he had checked himself in," Vassell explained. "I think the coaches addressed it ... [but] that just shows the level of a competitor that he is and that he wants to win."
Against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Wembanyama was graced with the same chance to close out another game that came down to the final play, which was good. But the minutes restriction remained, and he wasn't able to see much action when the Cavaliers re-took the momentum in the third and early-fourth quarter.
And not being out with the rest of his teammates fully — especially during a contest that was extremely winnable — only made his yearning to return to normalcy that much greater. In fact, it seemed to reach an apex.
“My hunger is bigger than ever to win and to compete," Wembanyama told reporters following the Spurs' loss to Cleveland. "But now, I have learned to get over that frustration of the minutes restriction. It is how it is. My body needs time to adapt to the load and to the long season.
"Once it’s ready, it's go time. But there's no need to be frustrated. I'm keep[ing] my long-term goals in mind.”
Those long-term goals are simple. Wembanyama wants to bring the Spurs to a championship — multiple, in fact — and become better than any No. 1 pick that's come before him.
He may stand in the shadows of the two that stood where he is years ago and under immense pressure from the five rosters that have won it all in San Antonio, but he's never been worried about that. Not legacies, awards or distinctions.
Wembanyama just wants to win. And he wants to win a lot.
"I'm a competitor, so I want to go at everyone," he said. "I want to be the 'bad guy' on the court. ... [And] at the end of the day, I'm going to get what I deserve. Every game is a statement from now on."
A statement to who, you might ask? Well, that's also straightforward.
"To everyone," he said. "It's as simple as that."
