Category: Interviews

Head coach Vincent Collet on how San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has helped Team France

“Even being a leader, he cannot win by himself,” noted Collet.

Joining the French National Team would be an adjustment for any player. But for a star like San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, it has also had some very unique challenges. Head coach of Team France Vincent Collet recently linked up with the Athletic NBA reporter Sam Amick to talk about Wemby’s experience adapting to playing for France in the 2024 Paris Olympics. And the Frenchman has done well in that regard per Collet.

“For Victor, the main thing was to go inside, where he is sure to dominate every time. If he plays too much perimeter, he’s like any other player,” explained the Team France coach.

“Some nights you make the shots, and some nights you don’t make (them),” he added. “And when you are stressed, you have more chance not to make (them).”

“Even being a leader, he cannot win by himself,” noted Collet. “He needs teammates to help him, and that’s what they did.”

“Batum, especially tonight, but others too, I think we cannot be good if we don’t find this chemistry, for sure. Victor is our target on offense, but we need to find a way to involve everybody.”

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San Antonio Spurs star forward Victor Wembanyama on finding his role with Team France

Wemby knew that it was going to be a challenge to fit in to their long-established system.

The French National Team has made a name for itself on the international stage through their long, deep ties and the advantages that such an approach to team building provides. So when rising star San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama found himself joining Team France for the 2024 Paris Olympics, he knew that it was going to be a challenge to fit in to that long-established system.

“It’s about taking everything that’s given to me and communicating a lot with my teammates,” said Wembanyama in a recent interview with the Athletic’s Sam Amick. “You know, it’s about sacrifices, I’d say.”

“We’re all here for a purpose,” he added. “We’re all ready to give our spot to the next guy. So this is what it’s about.”

“The guys here who have played together for a long time,” explained Wemby. “I mean, I think Nic (Batum) and the coach have known each other, have played together for the first time 20 years ago.”

“So they know each other, and I like the way they’ve tried to install me in the system.”

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Nic Batum on what it’s like to play with Spurs star forward Victor Wembanyama in Olympics

“The defense is so attracted to him, so you just try to get him in the right spots,” said Batum.

Veteran French forward Nicolas Batum has done some amazing things on the court, both in the NBA and playing for the French National Team over the years. So he knows high-level basketball as well as anyone currently playing in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Batum recently shared his thoughts on playing with rising San Antonio Spurs star and fellow forward for Team France Victor Wembanyama as the latter has been adjusting to Olympic play with the Athletic’s Sam Amick in a recent interview. “It’s easy to play basketball with him,” he explained. “It’s easy. (It’s) the size first, (but) he knows how to play the game.”

“’ve played with so many great players in my career, but to play with a young guy like (him) with so high an IQ, it’s easy to play with him, around him, (to know) how to give him the ball,” said Batum.

“I mean, he’s so good. The defense is so attracted to him, so you just try to get him in the right spots so we can play around him,” said the Frenchman. ” … (Wemby) knows who he is. He knows what he has to do to be great.”

And so far, we have seen very little to doubt Batum’s assessment.

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The Olympics are stressing Victor Wembanyama, but he’s ready for the challenge

Wemby’s coach for French pulled back the curtain a bit.

Most of the time, star San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama finds that things which are quite hard for his peers in the NBA tend to come easier for him by virtue of his otherworldly physique. But in his early moments prepping for and playing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, something new has been happening to the French phenom.

“I think for the first time of his career, he was a little bit stressed,” said (via the Athletic’s Sam Amick) Vincent Collet, head coach of the French National Team of the beginning of Wemby’s Olympic experience to date. “This week, I would say three days before the game, I felt he was a little bit stressed.”

“So we talked together and everybody around, (his) teammates, (the) rest of the staff, and we tried to help him,” he added. “And I think he’s so mature, day by day he got better with that, and he just wanted to start.”

“He was a … bit nervous. In France, everybody waits for him — I don’t know which word to use, but everybody waits for him,” said Collet. “You have the people who know basketball, and they understand he’s only 20 years old.”

“But people that like sports but (who) don’t know basketball, they think Victor is already Michael Jordan. (But that will) take time,” he noted, then shifted gears.

“Ah, he’s not far,” he added with a grin.

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San Antonio Spurs rookie Stephon Castle on playing with Chris Paul

“I feel like (Cp3 is) one of the best point guards to ever play in the NBA,” said Castle.

To say that rookie San Antonio Spurs combo guard Stephon Castle is excited to play with new veteran Spurs floor general Chris Paul may be something of an understatement. The champion University of Connecticut alum recently shared some of his thoughts about playing with his new teammate (and iconic head coach Gregg Popovich, for that matter) in an interview with Uproxx’ Robby Kalland.

“I feel like (Cp3 is) one of the best point guards to ever play in the NBA. So, to be able to learn from him, year one, it’s going to be super fun, for sure,” said Castle.

“And to be able to play alongside him, I feel like he’s a legend, so to play alongside Chris Paul and have Coach Pop with me is definitely something I’m looking forward to.”

“But just being able to pick up on things like screen navigation, like when to snake a screen, the right passes to make and stuff, I feel like he’s the best at doing that,” he added.

“So, trying to pick up on a lot of that stuff in the year that we’ll have him.”

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Rafael Stone: Rockets have no interest in trading Alperen Sengun

“Alpi’s gonna be with us next year,” Rockets GM Rafael Stone says of Alperen Sengun (via SiriusXM NBA Radio). “We have no interest in moving him.”

After a 2023-24 season that drew All-Star consideration and ended with a third-place finish in the NBA’s Most Improved Player race, Alperen Sengun is a rising star with the Houston Rockets.

Yet, while he’s eligible for a contract extension this offseason, Sengun has yet to receive one. There are compelling financial reasons for Houston to consider waiting until 2025 to finalize Sengun’s second contract, but that hasn’t stopped some observers from wondering if the Turkish big man might be available by trade.

Per Marc Berman of the New York Post, any list of potential suitors likely includes the Knicks. The problem, of course, is that Houston has zero motivation to trade its emerging 21-year-old star.

Even so, given the enormous reach of New York media outlets, speculation has swirled among fans in recent days. Fortunately, on Sunday, Rockets general manager went on the NBA’s Sirius XM radio channel and directly refuted any notion of trading Sengun.

“Alpi’s gonna be with us next year,” Stone told the hosts when asked about the recent wave of reporting. “We get calls on all our young guys. We have no interest in moving him.”

Stone’s latest Sengun commentary was first relayed by Bryce Gelman, a producer for Sirius XM NBA Radio.

Sengun averaged a team-high 21.1 points (53.7% FG), 9.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.2 steals in 32.5 minutes per game last season.

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San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle on facing former teammate Donovan Clingan in summer league

“It’s great practice to go against a guy like that,” said Castle.

Donovan Clingan knows from personal experience how hard it can be to keep new San Antonio Spurs combo guard Stephon Castle in front of him. They won an NCAA title together at the University of Connecticut together this spring, after all.

And when the former Huskies faced off as opponents in the NBA for the first time in Las Vegas Summer League this past Saturday (July 13), Castle went off, helping push the Spurs to a win with his play on both ends. “I know what kind of player Stephon is,” said Clingan via the San Antonio Express-News’ Tom Orsborne. “I was not surprised.”

And while Clingan did not have a similarly efficient night on offense, he did make Castle’s night a hard one around the cup. “That’s what he does,” said Castle of his former UConn teammate’s performance with the Portland Trail Blazers. “He protects the rim, so I don’t expect anything less from him.”

“It’s great practice to go against a guy like that,” added the San Antonio rookie. “He’s a high-level shot blocker.”

“I know I am going to see a lot of that this upcoming season. To have that trial and error, it was a good experience for me.”

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Summer San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Ingram ahead of Las Vegas Summer lEague

The former Tarheel has quietly been putting up solid numbers for San Antonio in summer league play.

Much of the hype for fans of the San Antonio Spurs heading into the NBA’s 2024 California Classic Summer League was understandably focused on the Spurs’ No. 4 overall pick of the 2024 NBA draft, champion University of Connecticut combo guard Steph Castle.

But as well as the former Husky may have done at the Cali Classic in his debut for San Antonio, the Spurs’ late second round draft pick, University of North Carolina forward Harrison Ingram, has been turning heads as well for his play at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center. The former Tarheel has quietly been putting up solid numbers for San Antonio in summer league play, raising expectations as the Spurs head to the league’s 2024 Las Vegas Summer League this weekend.

The man himself recently shared some words ahead of heading to Sin City for the last great exhibition series of the summer, courtesy of the host of the “Locked On Spurs” podcast, Jeff Garcia. Check it out below!

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The San Antonio Spurs invest in their best

Just because the regular season ends, does not mean that the San Antonio Spurs’ players stop working.

Just because the regular season ends, does not mean that the San Antonio Spurs’ players stop working. In fact, it is a perfect time for players to start working on elements of their game they do not have time for during the league’s regular season. They can use that time to polish those new additions in time to try them out in the subsequent season ahead.

And that is exactly what Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan has been up to this offseason with San Antonio, honing his craft ahead of the Spurs’ looming 2024-25 campaign with some new vets on the roster to learn from.

Sochan recently took some time to talk about how he and his teammates are making use of this offseason to elevate their development as players with San Antonio. Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what he had to say in a clip put together by the team on their official YouTube channel.

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Chris Paul speaks for the first time since signing with the San Antonio Spurs

Paul has oodles of vet savvy to share with a young roster in need of Point God skills.

Veteran floor general Chris Paul is now a member of the San Antonio Spurs, a partnership that makes all of the sense in the world given where he and the team are at for this coming NBA season. Paul has oodles of vet savvy to share with a young roster in need of Point God skills, and the Spurs can offer CP3 the type of role he wants as an elder statesman of the game.

And Paul recently shared his thoughts about joining the Spurs organization, speaking to the signing for the first time since leaving the Golden State Warriors in free agency earlier this summer. “Hey, what’s up, Spurs fans?” asked the man himself in a recent clip released by the team.

“I just want you guys to know how excited I am to get to San Antonio,” he added. I would have never thought in a million years that I’d get an opportunity to play for (iconic Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich).

“But I’m so excited,” said Paul, “excited about his young and talented team.”

“I cannot wait to get there and get to work and see what we got a chance to do, all right? I hope you guys are well — go Spurs! Peace.”

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