Category: Victor Wembanyama

The San Antonio Spurs have been the center of attention for most of the last few months, or at least since they won the NBA Draft lottery. In turn, they were able to select Victor Wembanyama with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, and the 19-year-old big man is already a superstar.

Ever since the Spurs selected him, Wembanyama has been the talk of the town around the NBA world. In just his first Summer League game, the arena was sold out, and the environment in the arena felt like that of a regular season affair. He’s even getting attention from celebrities.

At this year’s edition of the ESPY Awards, rapper Lil Wayne performed his hit song, “A Milli,” but changed up the lyrics. Wembanyama got a shoutout.

“You Pop ‘em ‘cause we pop ‘em like we coaching Wembanyama,” Wayne said.

Wembanyama hasn’t appeared in an NBA game yet, but he’s already getting name-dropped by rappers and earning a ton of social media attention. He’s a generational talent on the court, but off the court, he’s shaping up to be an absolute icon.

Throughout the years, the Spurs have been known for their quiet, win-first approach. Their stars – Tim Duncan, David Robinson, etc. – have kept their heads down, gotten to work, and reaped the rewards.

And while Wembanyama fully plans to accomplish the latter two things on that list, he may end up embracing the spotlight more than his San Antonio predecessors.

Spurs fans should be very excited for the Wembanyama era.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[anyclip pubname=”2123″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8222″]

The future of the San Antonio Spurs organization changed with the drop of a single Ping Pong ball this summer. They won the draft lottery and, with it, the right to select Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick. With the 19-year-old Frenchman in place, the Spurs will have to do everything they can to put a winning team around him.

Luckily for Wembanyama, he couldn’t have landed in a better place. The Spurs organization is known for its winning ways, and Gregg Popovich is arguably the greatest coach of all time. And the two sides will have a long while to figure things out.

With the way rookie scale contracts play out and the likelihood of an extension, Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News pointed out that the Spurs should have Wembanyama in town “at least through 2030.”

“For the Spurs, there’s no reason to believe that Wembanyama won’t be around at least through 2030,” Finger wrote. “His rookie deal keeps him under team control for four years, and before that contract expires, the Spurs will be able to sign him to a five-year extension worth far more than anyone else can offer him. Almost every star player signs that extension, and even the unhappy ones don’t start making trade demands until much later.”

Obviously, anything can happen in the NBA. We’re seeing players change teams frequently now more than ever. But on top of the obvious rookie contract and likely extension, the fit with Wembanyama and the Spurs just feels right.

And he hasn’t even played in a game for them yet.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[anyclip pubname=”2123″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8222″]

When the San Antonio Spurs selected Victor Wembanyama with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, they signed up for a decade of magnifying glasses being pointed at them. They will constantly be under the microscope, but considering the trade-off is a generational talent, the Spurs will gladly accept those conditions.

But with all the eyes on Wembanyama, some people are bound to hate on the youngster. Former NBA player “Big Baby” Glen Davis recently spoke about Wembanyama, claiming that while he may struggle with the Frenchman’s length, he would be able to go right through his chest, as he has a frail frame.

Davis called Wembanyama “Bambi,” but rather than take the disrespect and get offended, Spencer Richardson of Pounding the Rock spun it as a positive, comparing Wembanyama to the literal character from the movie.

“For my money, the best-case scenario for Wembanyama might be Bambi, and here’s the case: Bambi was only “uncoordinated Bambi” in Acts One and Two,” Richardson wrote. “By Act Three, he had successfully saved the wood from a fire and was crowned Prince of the Forest. So, by Big Baby’s own logic, Wembanyama is destined to rescue the San Antonio Spurs from its recent spell in basketball’s murky purgatory and ascend the throne as the franchise’s next great icon. Though, instead of being crowned, Spurs fans will happily settle for Wemby being ringed.”

For as long as Wembanyama is playing, and likely long after, people are going to throw hate his way. But for fans, media, and the Spurs themselves, lifting him up should take priority.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[anyclip pubname=”2123″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8222″]

As soon as the San Antonio Spurs made the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the future of their franchise changed forever. By picking Victor Wembanyama, they got a generational talent who could be the leader of their organization for years to come. It was a no-brainer selection.

Yet this summer, they didn’t do much to change the roster around him. Instead, they’re bringing back many of the same players who were on the team last year when the Spurs recorded the third-worst winning percentage in franchise history. But that’s because they’re playing the long game, as explained by Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News.

Finger explained that while the Spurs could look to win now, by bringing back the same players and developing them, they are planning for a dynasty.

“As you might have heard, they’ll be joined by a rather tall teenager who is supposed to change everything,” Finger wrote. “But aside from a second-round pick, an undrafted signee, and a couple of minor trade throw-ins acquired mainly to hit the league-mandated salary floor, the Spurs have been content to surround Victor Wembanyama with players who were part of the franchise’s worst team of the millennium.

“Now, you might be wondering, how can this be? Why didn’t the Spurs use their cap space to sign a star? Why didn’t they use their trove of draft capital to get involved in a mega-trade? Why aren’t they doing everything in their power to win as many games as they can from the first moment Wembanyama steps onto an NBA floor?

“The answer is, it’s because they’re trying to win another championship or three.

“And their window to do that hasn’t opened yet.”

How many championships will the Spurs win with Wembanyama?

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

The San Antonio Spurs made a huge splash this summer, and they didn’t need to spend any money in free agency or make a trade to do it. Instead, it was luck, as they won the draft lottery and earned the right to select French superstar Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Adding Wembanyama to their current young core is a massive win, as he’s the most hyped prospect since LeBron James. He’s had more hype around him over the past few months than almost any player currently in the NBA. But with that amount of attention and that number of eyes on him, some people are bound to go after him.

In a video tweeted by Ben Golliver of The Washington Post, NBA Hall-of-Famer Kevin Garnett said that Wembanyama has a “target on his back.” (H/t Gayle Troiani of NESN)

“He’s No. 1, absolutely he has a target on his back,” Garnett said. “Everybody is gonna set their level to the number one player and you’re gonna see what their level is.”

Kevin Garnett on Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama: “He’s No. 1. Absolutely he has a target on his back. … Coming from high school, I had a bunch of targets on my back. But that’s part of it.” pic.twitter.com/TaUnzbZCLk

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 14, 2023

After going first overall, players are going to look at him as a guy they want to beat, regardless of if they’re a rookie or not. Many already believe he’s going to be a generational talent, which could only fuel that fire more.

“You can look up to people, be a fan of people,” Garnett said. “But at the same time when you compete, you want to beat those people. … He’ll be alright.”

The Spurs and Wembanyama need to be ready to get every team’s best every single night.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Ever since the San Antonio Spurs won the draft lottery, they have been the center of attention, as it gave them the right to select Victor Wembanyama first overall. The 19-year-old Frenchman is already a superstar. In just his first Summer League game, the arena was sold out, and it felt like a regular season environment.

The hype around Wembanyama is unlike anything the NBA has seen since LeBron James, and with how much social media has grown, some could argue that he’s had more hype around him. But where does he rank in terms of stars that a team should want to build around?

According to Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report and the Bleacher Report staff, Wembanyama is a top-five player in the NBA when it comes to someone a team should want to build around, placing him at fifth.

“If Victor Wembanyama is even 80 percent as good as the hype suggests, how could we possibly leave him out of the top five?

“We get out over our skis with a prospect from virtually every draft class, envisioning multiple All-NBA nods for guys who’ve been legally driving for maybe two-and-a-half years. But Wembanyama isn’t Paolo Banchero, Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards or Zion Williamson. He enters the NBA with the “generational” tag that even the most overzealous talent evaluators reserve only for the likes of LeBron James and Tim Duncan.

“If Wembanyama doesn’t belong here, everyone in the scouting industry is dead wrong,” Hughes wrote.

Where should Wembanyama rank among potential face-of-the-franchise players?

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

After months of hype, San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama dominated NBA headlines this summer. The superstar Frenchman has been the talk of the town around the NBA after being selected first overall by the Spurs. In just his first Summer League game, the arena sold out, and the atmosphere felt like a regular season affair.

In the two Summer League games he played, Wembanyama looked great, and while he struggled on the offensive end in his debut, his talent still shined through. But the Spurs aren’t just the Wembanyama show. He may be the new face of the franchise, but there are plenty of other promising players on the roster.

Keith Smith of Spotrac spoke with some Spurs staffers while in Las Vegas for Summer League, and one said that while the franchise will obviously help Wembanyama be the best player he can be, it would be a “step to far” to say that he’s their only focus.

“It’s a step too far to say our entire franchise is focused on making sure Victor Wembanyama becomes everything we think he can be, because we have other good players too,” the staffer told Smith. “But clearly, we’re all focused on Victor. He’s a special talent and we can’t wait to add him in with all of our other guys.”

Wembanyama has superstar potential, and he seems like a guy who can lead the Spurs to a title at some point down the line. However, San Antonio is invested in their entire roster, not just the new rookie.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]