Victor Wembanyama, first! A little more than four months after his arrival in the NBA, and his selection first place in the Draft, the 19-year-old prodigy made his first steps with San Antonio last night, against Dallas, in a sold-out Frost Bank Center. Summer League and preseason are one thing. There, it was his first regular season match. A curiosity. The American broadcasters were not mistaken: San Antonio-Dallas was broadcast on ESPN. One of 19 Spurs matches on national TV this season, compared to just one in 2022-23. The “Wemby” effect.
History will remember that the giant from the Ile-de-France region (2.24 m), who arrived dressed all in black in an electrical room and fully committed to his cause, lost his first match against the Mavs (119-126) of Luka Doncic (33 pts, 14 rebounds, 10 pds) and Kyrie Irving (22 pts). Under the eyes of his sister Eve and his dad Felix, the French international (4 selections) from Spurs finished with 15 points (including 9 in the 4th quarter) at 6/9 on shots (3/5 at 3 pts), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 interceptions and 1 block in 23 minutes. He also committed 5 turnovers. Above all, he juggled with mistakes (5). Long confined to playing on the outskirts, through his fault but also (and above all?) that of his teammates who served him badly, he was finally given water inside in the last quarter. Too late… A mixed premiere. Worrying? Obviously not. It’s just one match. There are 81 left. Next Friday. “It was a lot of emotion, it would have been perfect to win. Maybe I wanted to do too well,” he admitted, adding that he was “not stressed.”
Associated with Sochan, Vassell, Johnson and Collins in the starting five, Wembanyama first appeared in the defensive register, with a counter on Irving, in a “Gruyère time” match, as George Eddy would say. After a first failure from distance, the Frenchman converted his second attempt, at the head of the racket. “Wemby” however had a little difficulty finding his place, or his teammates finding him. Nothing in the racket. Some errors too, like this defensive oversight on an assist. Popovich replaced him with 6’57 to play. His teammates were nevertheless in the lead. Return of “Wemby” with 2’25 to play, time to score from afar, on the side this time, and… to take his second foul, a stupid foul on an opposing counter-attack and in the last minute. Not smart (43-36 end of 1st QT)…
Full of enthusiasm and passion, this young San Antonio team continued to lead while Doncic gained momentum. Wembanyama returned to action 8’45 before the break, with a failure from distance, a defensive oversight, and bad choices. He scored another three points… canceled due to a mistake by a teammate. Meanwhile, Dallas had come back (52-52). The Frenchman came out at 58-56 with 3’12 to play while his team had just started a 12-0 run. Finally, 68-64 at the break, with 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 interception and 1 block in 12 minutes (2 fouls) from the Frenchman. Five players with ten points or more, Doncic (16) and Hardaway Jr (15) for Dallas, Vassell (15), Johnson and Sochan (10) for the Spurs.
Also read: Wembanyama after his mixed debut in the NBA: “Maybe I wanted to do too well, I’m learning for a first match”
If “Wemby” was struggling, it was in particular because of Grant Williams (17 pts). Certainly, the former Celtics gives a good twenty centimeters to the “Frenchy” (1.98m). Everything about the intensity, the fight, the aggressiveness. He took “Wemby” off his hinges, out of his match: lost ball and offensive foul in a handful of seconds. Wembanyama was penalized again on a poorly placed screen in attack, against Jones Jr. Fourth foul, return to the bench for the last 8’37 of a third quarter in a back and forth scoring mode. Dallas on pole at the start of the fourth (91-96), despite Vassell’s 19 points. Already 28 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists for Doncic, unplayable.
“Wemby” tried to put on a good face on the bench, encouraging his partners. The right attitude. Back to business at the start of the last 12 minutes. For 26 seconds. As a help, he hung Doncic. Hands on hips, with a somber look in his eyes, he returned to the bench and therefore took on this role of first fan, while Johnson (17 pts) came out of his box and gave hope to the 18,947 spectators at the Frost Bank Center (101- 100).
But Dallas started again with a vengeance (103-108). The moment Popovich chose to restart Wembanyama, 7’12 from the final buzzer. Come back all fired up. Three minutes of madness. Dunk on a serve from the excellent Vassell (23 pts), rebound, three points, another dunk… The French alien finally started his match. He landed another jumper at mid-distance, on the muzzle of his new friend Williams (115-115). His next two possessions were less well negotiated, with a loss of ball and a forced shot in front of Williams. In any case, he managed his foul problems well and San Antonio was still ahead at the start of the last two minutes (119-118). Alas, Irving scored five points in a row on two assists from Doncic, while the Spurs accumulated blunders and forgot “Wemby” again. Doncic gave the blow with 30 seconds on the clock, curtain (119-126 final score).
Victor Wembanyama and his teammates will not have time to think about it: they are back on Friday (during the night from Friday to Saturday, 2 a.m.), still in San Antonio, before playing five of their next six matches away from Texas . “I’m learning for a first match,” notes the Frenchman. “Losing, I hate it, but it’s part of the game. We’re hungry for the next match, we really want to start our season with as many victories as possible.”
