Category: Victor Wembanyama

Spurs’ Wembanyama on Popovich: ‘I could follow him with my eyes closed’

San Antonio Spurs rookie is very excited to play under head coach Gregg Popovich.

This past year, the San Antonio Spurs missed the playoffs for the fourth season in a row, extending their longest drought in franchise history. But at the NBA Draft Lottery, a light shined through the cracks on the Spurs as they won the right to select French superstar Victor Wembanyama with the first pick.

Wembanyama already looks like a star, and the media attention he’s gotten is that of the top players already in the NBA. But with all the spotlights that will be on him, Wembanyama landed in the perfect home, as the Spurs have a history of developing star talent and breeding a winning culture around that talent.

Obviously, that all starts with head coach Gregg Popovich, who has won five championships with the franchise. And luckily for the Spurs, Wembanyama is ready to follow Popcivh’s lead. (H/t Noah Magaro-George of Air Alamo)

“Really special,” Wembanyama said of the opportunity to play under Popovich. “And I feel like he thinks it’s going to be a special time, too. Because he cares a lot about me. He talks to me a lot. Pretty much every day. And, to me, it’s just such a chance to have a person this experience who’s been so successful in his life. He knows how to do it. I could follow him with my eyes closed. This is easy to do.”

Popovich just signed a massive five-year extension with the Spurs, and with him and Wembanyama in place, San Antonio fans should be super excited about the future of their franchise.

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Victor Wembanyama meshing with older Spurs players: ‘They trust me’

According to Victor Wembanyama, the other guys on the San Antonio Spurs already believe in him.

The San Antonio Spurs have played well in Summer League thus far. And while their loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday night dropped them to 2-2, eliminating them from playoff contention, San Antonio has still gotten a good feel for the young talent they are set to have on their roster.

Obviously, the star of the show has been Victor Wembanyama, but he was shut down after just two Summer League games. However, while he’s been playing with the Summer League squad, Wembanyama has gotten the chance to interact with some of the older guys on the main roster. (And with the Spurs, “older guys” just means players with ample NBA experience.)

Wembanyama said he was with some of the older players during Summer League and got a good vibe. (H/t Matt Guzman of Inside the Spurs)

“I travelled with [the older players] on the way to Vegas,” Wembanyama said. “I know I’ve said it before, but there’s a really good dynamic with this group. All of our players are really supportive. They trust me and they believe in me, which is really comforting. Not every team has almost [every player] on the sidelines.”

To hear Wembanyama speak about trust already being built is a solid indicator of how well this group could mesh from the jump next year.

Wembanyama is only a rookie, but he’s set to be one of the most talented players in the league right away, and for the Spurs to already believe in him is huge for team chemistry.

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