After a successful showing in Las Vegas, Victor Wembanyama shifts his focus to his 1st full season in the NBA.
LAS VEGAS — The San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama mapped out a plan for NBA 2K24 Summer League last month after the club drafted him No. 1 overall.
The sides completed execution of it Sunday, when the French phenom wowed a sellout crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center with a 27-point performance, showcasing all the attributes that make him the league’s most tantalizing prospect in 20 years.
San Antonio officially shut down Wembanyama for the remainder of Summer League the next day, and the move comes as no surprise considering the sides came to agreement shortly after the NBA Draft last month on the current strategy. The rookie attended the league’s Rookie Transition Program on Monday, and he’ll remain in Las Vegas for a few more days supporting his teammates while fulfilling other off-court obligations.
From there, the sides plan to meet again upon Wembanyama’s return to San Antonio to concoct a strategy for the offseason that will carry the rookie into the start of training camp.
“I’ve got to talk with [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich],” the rookie said. “I’m just gonna sit down with the Spurs to know what the next months are going to be like; when to go on vacation, when to start back working out, where I’m going to practice, in San Antonio or somewhere else. As I’m not playing in the World Cup, we’ve got two to three great months that are coming, and they are going to change my life. I’m probably gonna disappear from the media for the next months, honestly.”
Before that takes place, let’s examine five takeaways from Wembanyama’s burgeoning tenure with the San Antonio Spurs:
1. The rookie needs rest
After a lengthy run through the French League finals, Wembanyama left France 22 days ago headed to the NBA Draft in New York, and his life has been a whirlwind ever since. Think about it: No. 2 pick Brandon Miller and No. 3 selection Scoot Henderson hadn’t played meaningful basketball since March ahead of their respective Summer League debuts.
From New York, Wembanyama flew to San Antonio, before heading out to Portland to deal with some off-court business. The rookie traveled back to San Antonio to take part in a brief training camp ahead of Summer League, before boarding another flight on July 6 for Las Vegas.
“In the past month, I think basketball wasn’t even 50% of my schedule,” Wembanyama explained Sunday. “I can’t stand it. I know it’s a special moment in my life, but I’m glad it’s over, honestly. I just want to hoop. I just want to work out, lift, because this is my life. Every first pick is going to go through this, and it just makes me better for the future.”
Given Wembanyama’s natural curiosity and desire to take part in local customs, perhaps we’ll see him relaxing on a tube floating down one of the San Antonio-area rivers sometime this summer.
We can only hope.
2. Pop deal adds security
Coincidentally, the Spurs announced Popovich signed a five-year deal to remain the club’s head coach and president the day after the 74-year old watched Wembanyama’s Summer League debut against the Charlotte Hornets.
Popovich sat a few rows up from the court with assistant coach Brett Brown, general manager Brian Wright and CEO R.C. Buford.
Before the franchise even drafted Wembanyama, Popovich told NBA.com on multiple occasions that “I’m having fun coaching these kids.” Well, now he’s got a new one that possesses the tools to grow into the best player he’s ever mentored. Considering Wembanyama is just 19-years old, Popovich’s new deal deal likely ensures the rookie will play multiple seasons under the Hall of Famer’s tutelage.
“It’s just another sign from him and from the franchise that they care about the project,” Wembanyama said. “There’s something great going on, [that’s] starting. We kind of knew it was gonna happen. But now, let’s get it rolling. We can get started now.”
3. Emotional maturity is apparent
Victor Wembanyama put on a show in his 2nd Summer League performance, posting 27 points & 12 rebounds vs. Blazers.
Much was made of Wembanyama’s internal makeup going into the NBA Draft, but we finally caught a glimpse of it in real time on the heels of an up-and-down Summer League debut. One team official said Wembanyama reacted in a “surprisingly calm” manner after his first NBA bout of adversity.
Wembanyama scored nine points on 2-for-13 shooting in his debut and misfired on each of his first five 3-point attempts, in addition to committing three turnovers. Instead of lamenting the performance, Wembanyama called his debut “a special moment,” before quickly identifying areas he needed to improve. The rookie pointed out conditioning as a factor, while also admitting “I really didn’t know what I was doing on the court tonight.”
The rookie remedied some of the issues from his debut for a bounce-back performance Sunday in Game 2. Perhaps Wembanyama improved his prospects for a strong showing with a wise decision made the night prior.
Wembanyama was scheduled to appear Saturday at the Summer Players Party at Tao Nightclub hosted by Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin in conjunction with the NBA Players Association. Rapper Lil Baby performed for a crowd that included James Harden, Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum. But Wembanyama was nowhere to be found. He skipped the party to prioritize rest.
Spurs Summer League coach Matt Nielsen marveled at the level of maturity the rookie has displayed up to this point.
“He’s pretty unique in that way. He’s got a great head on his shoulders,” Nielsen said. “I’m not even trying to joke, but I’m not as mature as he is right now. I don’t know how he does it. It’s pretty impressive. I think that’s also his basketball temperament as well. He really wanted to learn and listen after Game 1 to this one. His attention to detail in those areas is pretty special as well.”
4. Areas of improvement
Wembanyama stands at 7-foot-3 1/2, and displays incredible ball-handling ability, which could be a blessing and a curse. Out on the perimeter, it’s fine to flex the sick handle. But in the paint where the rookie will likely draw double teams, he’ll need to learn when it’s safe to put the ball on the floor. It’s something that’s easily correctible, especially when you’re playing for a coach like Popovich, who despises avoidable turnovers.
Wembanyama also mentioned improving his level of conditioning to be able to hold up for an 82-game NBA season.
Once the rookie returns to San Antonio, he’ll continue to work with the team’s starting group to gain a level of cohesion going into the season. But most importantly, he’ll look to strengthen and add some bulk to his lanky frame.
The natural ability is there. We watched the step-back 3’s and putback dunks in his first two Summer League outings, not to mention the mind-boggling play against Portland on Sunday in which Wembanyama tossed up a floater from one side of the basket, snagged his own rebound on the other, and finished through contact with his off-hand.
WEMBY WITH A PAIR OF DUNKS
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are LIVE on ESPN2. pic.twitter.com/O2xsaw9aoN
— NBA (@NBA) July 10, 2023
Wild.
Combine that incredible skill set with a body built for peak performance, and we’re talking about a player poised to dominate the NBA for at least the next decade.
5. “A bigger Bill Russell”
That’s how Jerry West described Wembanyama on Sirius XM NBA radio.
“He reminds me of a bigger Bill Russell."
Jerry West has high praise for Victor Wembanyama at NBA Summer League@termineradio | @thejaxshow | @vicw_32 pic.twitter.com/AZKfgqRDTw
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 8, 2023
“You rarely see someone that combines his brain and his ability,” West said. “If you watch him defensively, he ruins games. He reminds me a little bit of a bigger Bill Russell with a big reach coming from everywhere, blind side. Any offensive player is gonna have to be really cautious about where he is because he’s gonna mess up summer offenses, that’s for sure.”
We get so wrapped up in Wembanyama’s immense skill set offensively that we neglect the rookie’s potential impact on defense. Hall of Famer Tim Duncan served as the center of the universe for everything the Spurs did defensively throughout his career, and Wembanyama is poised to take on a similar role for this new-look squad.
As the rookie told Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Isiah Thomas at the inaugural NBA Con: “I didn’t know what I was doing [in the NBA Summer League opener], and for the next games, I’m probably not going to know what I’m doing, too.”
But he knew enough to rack up a total of eight blocks in his first two Summer League appearances.
We’ll ooh and ahh at Wembanyama’s offensive prowess next season, but the rookie’s rim-protection will turn out to be one of the more underrated, yet most important, facets of his game.
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Michael C. Wright is a senior writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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