Victor Wembanyama Just Sent a Message to the Rest of the Banged-Up NBA

The story of the NBA to start the 2026–27? Injuries. Injuries as far as the eye can see.

The contention landscape was drastically altered in recent days with numerous contenders suffering huge blows to their star players. Chet Holmgren was ruled out for two months just this weekend, stripping the Thunder of yet another starter. Ja Morant’s hamstring acted up to put a huge damper on a wonderful start to the season for the Trail Blazers in Portland. Before those two news breaks, Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards underwent knee surgery, Tyrese Haliburton’s triumphant return was interrupted by another hamstring issue and Paolo Banchero went down with an ankle sprain.

NEXT: Why the NBA Has an Injury Problem, and How It Can Be Fixed

At seemingly every turn an injury has hit a big name. Few teams have escaped the bug so far this season. One West contender, however, has remained largely intact—and their best player sent a loud message on Saturday night.

Victor Wembanyama’s first big game of the season was a loud message

Victor Wembanyama stumbled to start his highly-anticipated fourth NBA season. The hype was overwhelming, filled with MVP predictions and declarations that he would take the throne of best player in the world after last year’s breakout performance that fell just short of championship-worthy. Then he went out and missed 12 of his first 13 shots in the Spurs’ opening night loss to the Thunder. It was as ugly as the statline suggested; the superstar big man never got comfortable and forced quite a few looks as he turned the ball over four times.

The performance led to plenty of criticism and questions from the more reactionary side of the NBA world about whether Wembanyama was crowned too early. If he really had learned anything from June’s devastating Finals loss. If San Antonio’s hype train was just a little ahead of schedule.

Answers won’t be found for a while yet. But Saturday night brought Wemby’s first truly dominant showing of the season, serving as a reminder of just how freaking good he (and the Spurs) are when things are rolling.

Going up against the LaMelo Ball-led Timberwolves, the tall Frenchman racked up 43 points on a clean 50% shooting from the floor. He sunk three of eight three-point tries, went 6-for-9 from the free throw line and was typically excellent defensively with six blocks. It still made for a tough win—Wemby finished +11 in a 121–111 victory.

At large the performance was way more in line with what we thought we’d see out of the young star entering the campaign. He was comfortable and assertive in getting to his spots, forcing Minnesota’s defense to react to his talents instead of allowing the opponent to dictate the terms of engagement. Wembanyama also threw an alley-oop off the backboard to himself again, which would be one heck of a go-to move.

WEMBY IS SCARY 😧 pic.twitter.com/A4tPuDvQoa
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 1, 2026

All after showing up to the game in full Halloween garb, dressed as the Butcher of Blaviken himself, Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher series. Not too shabby.

A MONSTROUS HALLOWEEN PERFORMANCE FROM WEMBY!

🎃 43 POINTS
🎃 7 BOARDS
🎃 6 BLOCKS
🎃 SPURS W pic.twitter.com/7SPzYTcLlF
— NBA (@NBA) November 1, 2026

The Spurs’ place among the West contenders remains undeniable

In the even bigger picture, the game was a good reminder that San Antonio should still be seen as a serious threat to claim this year’s title despite a shaky start to the season.

The Spurs lost opening night thanks to Wembanyama’s struggles and then dropped their second game due to one of the great game-winning blocks you’ll ever see by Amen Thompson. An 0–2 stretch is not what San Antonio had in mind, entering the year with championship expectations. The underwhelming pair of games left the Spurs somewhat lost in the buzz of everything else happening in the first few weeks of the year.

NEXT: The Biggest Winners and Losers From First Night of the 2026 NBA Cup

But, quietly, they steadied themselves. Halloween night’s win over the Wolves marked four straight wins. The team is now ranked top-10 in both offensive and defensive rating. Dylan Harper has looked pretty good to start the year and, perhaps more importantly, has earned a top spot in Mitch Johnson’s rotation, leading the team with 33.7 minutes per game. Stephon Castle’s three-point shot is still shaky but he’s launching them without hesitation as defenses leave him open when the Spurs run a three-guard lineup with him, Harper and De’Aaron Fox.

There’s still plenty of room for improvement, naturally, but San Antonio’s talent remains top-end. When that talent plays anywhere near the fullest extent of their remarkable capabilities, this is an awfully difficult team to match up with—and neary impossible for any shorthanded squads like Oklahoma City, Minnesota and the other contenders who have taken blows on the injury front of late.

The Spurs and Wembanyama are still here. The NBA shouldn’t be quick to forget that now that the buzz of the season’s start has faded.

Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.

Add us as a preferred source on Google