LAS VEGAS — Victor Wembanyama was better, much better, in his second crack at an NBA Summer League game, scoring a team-high 27 points with 12 rebounds in 27 minutes for the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
Double-doubles are good, even in Las Vegas, when the pressure is off and the competition is nothing like what he will see when the real NBA season starts in October.
“It’s summer league and he’s got a big future coming, season coming, all of that stuff, but I don’t think there’s any doubt there’s a lot of attention, and I’d be lying if I said he probably didn’t feel some of that,” Spurs summer coach Matt Nielsen said. “I think he showed the talent that he is, and the resilience and he just stepped up and wanted to be better in the areas that we spoke about.”
Wembanyama, 19, the No. 1 pick of the 2023 draft and an international sensation, added three blocks and shot 9-of-14 from the field in the Spurs’ 85-80 loss to the summer version of the Portland Trail Blazers. His 3-pointer with 1:58 left brought the Spurs to within a point and brought down thunderous applause from a crowd that was so clearly hungry to see him play like this.
It was a marked improvement for the 7-foot-4 Frenchman, who built a small house in his much-anticipated summer debut Friday in missing 13 of 15 shots.
“It’s just me getting comfortable with myself, comfortable with my body, the court,” Wembanyama said. “Before today, I had like two practices and one game, so I was just getting going.”
Wembanyama moved better against the Blazers, having shaken some of the rust from the banquet circuit he’d hit after his European pro season concluded. He showed more touch near the basket, drew enough fouls to shoot 12 free throws (and made seven), and even knocked down a couple of jumpers. He remained a deterrent in the lane for would-be drivers and slashers — which was the main positive Spurs fans took from the five blocks he posted Friday.
Wembanyama also continued to struggle with maintaining possession when stronger players sought to take the ball from him, and he remained a movable object at the point of contact — two problems that should fade over time as he grows into his lengthy frame.
Wembanyama showed flashes of his potential on offense in his nine-point outburst in the second quarter Sunday (he scored nine for the game in his debut Friday), behind a nifty floating jump shot and two dunks that sent a palpable buzz through the crowd. He had the fans on full tilt in the fourth with a 10-point explosion, which featured two 3-pointers, a hook and sharp spin and shot off the glass.
He also airballed a wide-open 3 from the top of the key, a reminder that while the YouTube videos of a giant splashing 3s were cool, he shot just .275 from 3-point range in the French pro league last season.
Sunday’s game was supposed to be a matchup between the two rookies who entered the draft with the most hype — Wembanyama and No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson of the Blazers — but Henderson injured his shoulder in his debut Friday and was held out.
The Spurs’ next summer league game is at 10:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday against the Washington Wizards, and Nielsen acknowledged that Wembanyama’s summer will be cut short before the schedule is finished.
“I’m sure that’ll come up very quickly, but for me right now, I’m just trying to get through that game, so I’m unsure of the next step, but just, just enjoy it,” Nielsen said.
Wembanyama added: “I need to talk with Pop (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich), and I’m going to listen to whatever he says. I’m ready to make any sacrifice for the team and give 100 percent.”
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(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
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