Wemby Showcased Potential In Summer League

After a forgettable debut, Victor Wembanyama had a way better second outing in his game against the Portland Trail Blazers before the Spurs decided to shut him down for the rest of the Summer League. San Antonio didn’t need to see much more of the former number-one overall pick from this past NBA draft, as it will likely be the last Summer League game for Wemby.

The 7’5″ French phenom had a shaky start last month, as the 19-year-old was rusty and looked nervous playing with a sold-out crowd at Thomas & Mack Center in Vegas against the Charlotte Hornets. In front of nearly 19,000 people, Wemby was disappointing in his first action for San Antonio and only had nine points total, while going 2-for-13 shooting from the field, including going 1-for-6 from beyond the arc. Even with eight rebounds and five blocked shots, the superstar was outshined in the same game by former second overall pick of this past NBA draft, Brandon Miller.

Wemby only played 40 minutes.

“Honestly, I didn’t really know what I was doing on the court tonight,” said Wembanyama, as he stated conditioning was an issue that will have to be improved on before the NBA regular season.

“Even though it was only 40 minutes tonight when I was subbed out I was always tired and exhausted,” he said. “So, I think there’s a lot of conditioning to do.”

Despite his struggles offensively, his wingspan alone will make him a decent defender, as there are a few highlight blocks from Wemby playing in his first 2K24 Summer League game.

All eyes will be on the highly touted rookie, as the hype prior to the draft rivaled the likes of LeBron James back in 2003. But way more has to be done if he wants to reach any sort of potential, even with the likes of Hall of Fame Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.

The 74-year-old coach for San Antonio is currently the highest-paid head coach in the NBA, after signing a contract extension more than a week ago. Pop getting the chance to draft and coach Wemby was likely a reason why he decided to stick around on the court for this coming season, as opposed to the office as the president of the team.

Just having Wemby playing in just two Summer League games propelled it to the second-most-watched Summer League ever, as his debut was the second-most-watched Summer League game ever also with 1.39 million viewers. This was only behind Zion Williamson and his debut back in 2019 for the New Orleans Pelicans against the New York Knicks, per Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, at 1.61 million viewers.

Although his second matchup wasn’t as viewed, there still was a crowd. Wemby did have some interesting quotes prior to his second Summer League game against the Portland Trail Blazers more than a week ago.

When comparing the NBA with the Meta92 French team, Wemby noted that the NBA is “less physical” in comparison but faster, while also mentioning there is way more talent on the court in the NBA. He did prove in the second game that he can hang, as the star rookie redeemed himself with a way better performance, despite the loss against Portland without the former third overall pick of this past NBA draft Scoot Henderson.

Wembanyama had 27 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks on 9-of-14 shooting, as that would be enough to conclude his Summer League game appearances for the Spurs. Showing growth already in just his second game, Wemby was less impressed with his stat line and was focused on missing out on a win.

“I wish we could have won the game,” Wembanyama said. “I think I could have done more to help my team win the game. We got to keep learning. We haven’t been playing our best for like three quarters. Then in the fourth quarter, we were really dominating. It shows the personality of the team.”

“I think personally, it’s normal to get better every game. Two days ago was my first game.”

Wemby started off his second game slowly like his debut but after a pull-up jumper and dunking in the second quarter, things started to change for him.

“I told him at shootaround this morning, I said, ‘We got to get you going early,’ and you see what happened,” Spurs guard Blake Wesley said. “He had 27 tonight. When he gets going, he gets on fire.”

Wemby seems ready and prepared for the NBA season when it kicks off in late October, as he is just focusing on basketball for the three months prior to training camp, which is slated to start in early October.

“Like this past month, I think basketball wasn’t even 50% of my schedule,” Wembanyama said. “I can’t stand it. I know it’s a special moment in my life, but I’m just glad it’s over honestly. I just want to hoop, workout, and lift.”

“I just know that as I’m not playing in the World Cup,” Wembanyama added, “I’ve got two to three months – two to three great months – that are coming up and they’re going to change my life.”

Just playing 54 minutes in two games, Wemby had an up-and-down summer. However, it was enough for the Spurs to see him in action and to decide to sit the young superstar.

Wemby will get a much-needed break, as the French phenom has been out and about for the past year. The 19-year-old was in the French playoffs up until a few days before the draft in June, to then follow up with the Summer League.

This isn’t even mentioning the weird altercation between Wemby’s security and Britney Spears prior to his debut, as Spears tried to congratulate him at the ARIA hotel and casino in Vegas. She attempted to gesture by touching his shoulder before Wemby’s bodyguards intervened. This unusual situation led to the filing of an official police report and the former top NBA pick has been in the headlines ever since.

That is no surprise he’s been in the spotlight, as Wemby was scouted early on and was labeled as the next big thing for the NBA, even bigger than normal big men at the center position. This will likely continue into the regular season, as eyes will be on him and his connection with Pop.

His development will be key early on, as Wemby recently spoke about his head coach. “I could follow him with my eyes closed,” he said, along with other lines of optimism about him and Pop working together before the season starts.

This could be a special connection Spurs fans will want to witness on the court over the next few years, as San Antonio has missed the last four playoffs and will need to make some sort of progress that results in wins, despite having one of the younger teams in the NBA.

Article by Andrew Kim

Projected Summer, 2023 Graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Media Studies/ Journalism from Mercy College.