LAS VEGAS — The thousands who came out to watch Victor Wembanyama’s NBA Summer League debut walked away muttering to themselves about his skills as a ball screener.
In other words, what we saw from the No. 1 pick, the international sensation, in his first game in a San Antonio Spurs uniform was largely forgettable.
Wembanyama scuffled through much of his summer league lid-lifter, scoring nine points with eight rebounds and five blocks on 2-of-13 shooting in a 76-68 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Wembanyama, 19, of France, who starred this season for the Metropolitans 92 LNB Pro A’s, looked like he hadn’t played basketball in a while. He wasn’t included in the Spurs’ summer league games in California this week, and after weeks of the banquet circuit and celebrity that comes with not only being the presumptive top pick, but also a teenager with an enormous amount of expectations placed on him, his rust/lack of conditioning was apparent.
“I’ve had a couple practices with the roster guys … and yeah, this is pretty much all of the basketball I could do,” Wembanyama said. “I was working out by myself a couple of days before this. And yeah, it was a really special time for me because it’s between the end of my season and the draft, and then the summer league.
“I really need the rest that would come after, and this summer is gonna be amazing for my future.”
GO DEEPER
Victor Wembanyama looked mortal, even as his presence left summer-league buzzing
The Spurs’ next summer league game is Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers. No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson is on the Blazers, but he injured his shoulder in the third quarter of his debut Friday and it remains to be seen if he’ll play.
Wembanyama was arguably outplayed by the No. 2 pick of the 2023 draft, Charlotte’s Brandon Miller, who didn’t exactly light it up either but was quicker and sharper with his 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Miller drained a 3-ball over Wembanyama in the fourth quarter in one of several possessions on which they were matched; fans who were still there collectively murmured.
A sold-out crowd at Thomas and Mack Arena on the campus of UNLV had filed out of the upper deck and behind the baskets in the lower bowl well before the end of the game.
“It was a special moment, really, really special, to wear the jersey for the first time,” Wembanyama said.
The hype of Wembanyama’s debut rivaled that of Zion Williamson’s in 2019. Williamson didn’t quite live up to the hoopla in his summer debut (or since), but at least there was an earthquake that night that shook the scoreboard and stopped the game. The only shaking in the building on this night was the rim when Charlotte’s Kai Jones caught a lob and hammered it over Wembanyama in the third quarter.
Jokes about ball screens aside (they were largely his role in the Spurs’ offense after the first quarter), Wembanyama’s sheer size and presence on defense were what stood out. At 7-foot-4, he not only blocked those five shots but also changed numerous others as a springy disrupter. The shot, handles and rim-attacking he’s shown on offense — for the Metropolitans or Team France — will come.
He was headed for a scoreless second half until he connected on a 3 and was fouled with 2:50 left in the game. On his previous 3-point attempt a possession earlier, Wembanyama was wide open and hit the backboard (and nothing else).
“The biggest improvement I gotta do is be ready, be ready to react when the play is called,” he said.
Spurs summer coach Matt Nielsen added: “I think all in all he did a good job. Obviously, there is a lot of attention on him. You can talk about the outside stuff, but physicality and that was something they obviously wanted to line up, as you would, and overall I thought he came out pretty good.”
Wembanyama’s week was already off to a start fit for someone destined to spend the next two decades in the public eye. He was involved in a strange, awkward incident between Spurs security and pop music star Britney Spears, who grabbed Wembanyama from behind to try to say hello as he walked into a restaurant Wednesday evening at the ARIA Resort and Casino.
According to the Associated Press, law officials will not file charges against Spurs security after police determined that Spears inadvertently hit herself in the face as the guard tried to separate her from Wembanyama. She had claimed the Spurs official hit her.
“I haven’t been here for long,” Wembanyama said of his first week in the NBA. “Everything is calculated and there is a really good organization around me. Yeah, I think it’s all working together.”
Required reading
(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
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