The Frenchman was erratic in shooting, with 2 of 13, in San Antonio’s victory against the Hornets (76-68)
He signed 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 blocks
Victor Wembanyama, the most anticipated rookie in the NBA since the landing of LeBron James 20 years ago, made his debut this Friday with the San Antonio Spurs in a preseason game in which he left some glimpses of his enormous quality and his extraordinary physical qualities. The French prodigy added 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 blocks in the match that the Spurs beat the Charlotte Hornets (76-68) in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas (USA).
It has not been a month since the Denver Nuggets won the ring against the Miami Heat and just 15 days since Wembanyama was crowned number one in the draft, but the NBA machinery does not rest and now everything revolves around this 19-year-old generational talent who seems poised for glory.
At 2.22 meters tall barefoot, Wembanyama showed in his first game in NBA territory his impressive ball handling skills for a center of his size and his ability to intimidate opponents and capture rebounds with a wingspan that exceeds 2 .40. In attack, perhaps due to the nerves of the moment, he was not fine with a poor 2 of 13 shooting (1 of 6 3 pointers), fumbled 3 balls and, at times, it seemed too hasty.
The French giant, whose urgent duty is to gain muscle to be able to fight with the towers of the NBA, was received with applause from the warm-up at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. 17,500 people filled this stadium at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and some basketball legends such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Jerry West were not lacking among the public. Another example of the ‘Wemby phenomenon’? The average price to see him in this preseason game was $96, the highest for a Summer League game since 2015, when ticket resale platform Vivid Seats began analyzing that data.
Wembanyama, who has caused a sensation for the poise and serenity with which he is facing his ‘French revolution’ in the NBA, has also begun to ‘suffer’ the tremendous attention he brings in his wake. Thus, on Wednesday he was the protagonist of a strange incident with Britney Spears when the singer approached the player in a Las Vegas hotel, he touched his back to ask for a photo while Wembanyama was walking and the Spurs security team pushed the artist away by hitting her in the face.
Expectation for ‘Wemby’
With murmurs and expectation in the stands every time he touched the ball, Wembanyama began the game by winning the opening jump and missing his first three shots (a penetration to the backboard, a 5-meter shot and a dunk). His first big action came soon after: he blocked Kai Jones, grabbed the rebound, led the fast break and finished with a classy finish with a terrific assist for Dominick Barlow. We had to wait a little longer to see his first points, which came in the opening quarter with a two plus one from the paint.
Wembanyama was hasty on several occasions -especially when he looked for one on one- and was unwise in the triples. But in the second quarter he gifted another shocking moment with a shot to Brandon Miller as the No. 2 draft pick attempted a long 3-pointer.
After the break, Wembanyama suffered a powerful dunk with additional from Jones, who rose over the center to embroider a splendid ‘alley-oop’, and made up for his mistake on the perimeter with a triple plus free kick.
The regular season of the NBA will begin in October and then Wembanyama will already be under the orders of a legendary coach like Gregg Popovich (in the Summer League the teams are led by assistant coaches).
The Spurs were the worst team in the West last year (22-60) but they have unlimited faith in repeating with Wembanayama the successes they achieved in the past by choosing centers in the first place in the draft, since David Robinson (1987) and Tim Duncan (1997) forever changed the history of this team with five titles between 1999 and 2014.
Apart from Wembanyama’s premiere, this Friday of the Summer League he left an excellent winning triple by Jabari Smith Jr. (number 3 in the 2022 draft) for the Houston Rockets against the Portland Trail Blazers. The bad news was the Scoot Henderson’s shoulder injury (No. 3 in this year’s draft for Portland) and Amen Thompson (number 4 for Houston), who had to leave that game.