Victor Wembanyama’s Finals run was dazzling, but it also left the Spurs with a clear lesson. He averaged 26 points in the NBA Finals, the highest mark by anyone 22 or younger in the history of the series, and San Antonio still walked away in five games.
Now training camp is here, and the next step won’t come in a day. It’s an 82-game haul before the Spurs get another shot.
That makes the coming months feel loaded with intrigue. Dylan Harper’s encore, Tobias Harris’ role, and whether Victor Wembanyama can chase MVP all stand out as big talking points for a team that suddenly feels electric again. There should be plenty to enjoy along the way.
There will also be plenty of noise, especially around De’Aaron Fox.
Every season brings its own faction of fans ready to turn on a player the moment he has an off night, and Fox is set up to hear plenty of that. The moment he struggles, some will push the Dylan Harper should start argument and conveniently overlook any rough patches from the ex-Rutgers guard.
But 82 games is a long ride, and every player is going to have swings. One bad night does not settle anything about who a player is or whether he belongs in the starting five.
The more interesting question is what Wembanyama looks like after that Finals loss. At this point, the Spurs know exactly who he is.
The real issue is how much he has learned. Can he create easier scoring chances?
Can he get to more efficient looks in isolation? Those are the kinds of details that matter when the playoffs come back around.
His Finals numbers were historic, but they also came with a heavy burden. Wembanyama’s 26 points per game were the best scoring average by anyone 22 or younger in NBA Finals history.
His usage rate was 30.4, the second-highest for a player that age since the league began tracking the stat in 1977, according to StatMuse. Only LeBron James had a higher usage at 36.2, though James was far less efficient at 42.8 TS% and also got swept.
That comparison only goes so far. A young wing with a thin roster is one thing; a 7-foot-4 “extraterrestrial” with that kind of talent around him is another.
Still, the usage number stands out. Carrying that much of an offense at 22, while staying reasonably efficient, is outrageous.
It also helps explain why he wore down with that kind of workload and nearly 40 minutes a night.
So the best version of Year Four may not be Wembanyama doing even more. It may be Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper doing enough to ease the load. It may be Wembanyama spending more possessions hunting cleaner shots, punishing mismatches, and steering games without having to create every edge himself.
That is the kind of growth that could make the French Mind Flayer even more dangerous, whether his scoring volume rises or not. For Spurs fans, watching that take shape should be near the top of the list.
In Other News...
Spurs Have A Big Question As Their Guard Trio Takes On More
Mitch Johnson is pushing the Spurs toward a bigger role for their young guard trio, with Dylan Harper, DeAaron Fox and Stephon Castle expected to share the floor more often than they did a year ago. The idea is built on what the group flashed in limited stretches last season, and San Antonio wants to see those promising moments turn into something more stable as the minutes start to rise.
For that to work, the fit has to be cleaner away from the ball. Johnson has pointed to the need for the guards to sharpen the little things that make an overloaded backcourt function, especially spacing the floor and cutting hard to the rim. It is the kind of adjustment that could unlock the lineup, and also the part of the experiment that will decide whether the Spurs can keep leaning into it. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama May Need One New Weapon To Protect His Future
Victor Wembanyama already stands out as one of the leagues most difficult scorers to game-plan for, thanks to a skill set that stretches defenses in almost every direction. But as the Spurs continue managing his development, there is a growing basketball case for adding another layer to his attack, one that could make him even harder to defend while also helping preserve the kind of body that has to carry a massive workload.
The idea is pretty simple: if Wembanyama can become more dependable from the middle of the floor, he may not have to absorb so much contact at the rim or rely as heavily on the same high-impact possessions every night. His current touch from that area leaves room for growth, and for a player with his long-term importance in San Antonio, the payoff would not just be about scoring. It would be about building a path that keeps his game efficient, sustainable and a little easier on his future. [Read more 🡒]
Tobias Harris Just Changed A Tough Spurs Decision
Tobias Harris arrived in San Antonio as one of the more interesting offseason additions, and the fit already feels like a live roster question for the Spurs. At media day, Harris made it clear he is focused on winning and is prepared to handle whatever role the team asks of him, which is exactly the kind of flexibility a young team wants from a veteran forward.
The complication is obvious enough: Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie are the current starting forwards, and Harris gives the Spurs another proven option in that same mix. His place in the rotation will come down to what the team needs and how everyone performs, making this less about a simple signing and more about an early-season decision that could shape the way the Spurs line up. [Read more 🡒]