The 19-year-old French prodigy, No. 1 in the spring draft, shone with 22 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 blocks and 6 steals in 24 minutes. But the Spurs were quickly overtaken by the defending champion Denver, who nevertheless had four defeats in five games. They notably fell on the Serbian pivot Nikola Jokic, once again immense, with 39 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists.
“He (Wembanyama) played aggressively, weighed on the match in many ways, blocking, scoring, passing,” praised his coach Gregg Popovich. He is an altruistic player who quickly forgets his mistakes. His defense continues to improve, every game he learns, how the league works, the way we want to play, he is constantly improving. “I want him to play close to the circle (like a pivot) but also outside, he has the means to play well in both positions,” said the coach about the versatile Frenchman, both immense (2.24 m) and agile, who is starting to spend more time in the “low post” in recent matches.
The Texans, the youngest squad in the NBA, suffered a 12th consecutive defeat, and remain in last place in the Western Conference (3 wins – 14 losses). They haven’t won since November 2 in Phoenix. After a rare three-day break in the NBA, they will host Atlanta on Thursday.