The San Antonio Spurs have been one of the worst teams in the NBA season. They are currently 7-33 on the season, which is tied with the Washington Wizards for the second-worst record in the NBA. But despite their lack of success, they still have one thing giving them hope, and his name is Victor Wembanyama.
The 20-year-old Frenchman has been putting up solid numbers in his rookie season, but watching him on the court tells a story that no stat can. He clearly has the talent to be a franchise cornerstone in this league, especially with how impressive he’s been on both offense and defense in just his rookie year.
Spurs owner Peter J. Holt recently did an interview with Yann Ohnona of L’equipe (a French newspaper) in which he detailed the Spurs’ plan to build a “superpower” around Wembanyama. (H/t BasketNews for translation)
“We don’t think about that,” Holt told Ohnona. “We don’t believe there is a deadline for success. Some people try to take shortcuts to the top, to short-circuit the process. It usually backfires. Having a generational talent like Victor, with other quality players, while having extended [head coach Gregg] Pop[ovich] for five years, building on [CEO] RC [Buford], who has built championship teams, is the right thing to do,” he said. At the statistical, collective, and individual level, we are already seeing an evolution, particularly with Victor.
“This has not yet become a success, but it has its place. When we look at the whole picture, we know we are on the right track. We’ll find the balance between development and results. We don’t want a roller coaster between victories and defeats. We want to build a superpower, [an] ultra-competitive [team] that lasts for a long time.”
San Antonio may not be winning right now, but they have a plan. And it starts and ends with Wembanyama.
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