Everything looked familiar at Frost Bank Center on Thursday - until Victor Wembanyama decided to remind everyone why he can warp a basketball game in a single possession.
San Antonio opened its preseason slate by hosting the Atlanta Hawks, and the first-quarter highlight came fast. Wembanyama took Onyeka Okongwu off the dribble with a crossover, then stepped back and buried a three-pointer. At 7-foot-4, he made the sequence look almost unfair, the kind of move that feels more like a guard drill than something coming from a center that size.
The Spurs’ 22-year-old star has spent the summer keeping busy, too. He hosted teammates in France for a team-building trip and also played for the national team in the FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers. On top of that, he trained again with Hakeem Olajuwon, a clear sign he’s still chasing more polish in his game.
San Antonio enters the season with bigger goals than a preseason opener. The Spurs are coming off a loss to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, and with their core back plus the addition of Tobias Harris, they’re expected to be in the title mix again.
Wembanyama also drew attention recently for allegedly refusing to grant exclusive interviews to media outlets in the United States, fearing that their loss to the Knicks would be brought up.
By the fourth quarter, the Spurs were leading the Hawks. Wembanyama had posted nine points, six rebounds, one assist and one block in 17 minutes, while Dylan Harper had 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and one steal in 19 minutes.
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Spurs Bench Could Decide How Far This Playoff Push Goes
The Spurs have spent the early part of this season trying to make their bench look less like a gap to survive and more like an advantage to exploit. With Tobias Harris and Tarris Reed Jr. added to the mix, and familiar pieces like Keldon Johnson and Luke Kornet back in the fold, San Antonio has clearly tried to deepen the rotation around Victor Wembanyama. For a team with bigger ambitions, the minutes when Wembanyama sits have become a central measuring stick.
Dylan Harper is part of that equation, too, with the Spurs expecting him to shoulder a much larger offensive load as the second unit settles in. How quickly that group comes together may go a long way toward determining how far this playoff push can travel, because San Antonio does not need its bench to be perfect. It just needs the reserves to hold the line often enough, and maybe even tilt a few games, when the stars are off the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Are Finally Testing A Lineup That Could Define This Season
Mitch Johnson is using the preseason to take a first real look at a guard-heavy look that could shape the Spurs season, naming Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle and DeAaron Fox as starters for an upcoming exhibition. Harper showed enough promise last season to make this feel like more than a routine early-October experiment, and San Antonio clearly wants to see how his game fits alongside two established guards who can handle the ball, push pace and create stress for defenses.
The focus now is less on results than on fit. The Spurs want to sort out spacing, ball movement and defensive balance with this trio on the floor, using these preseason minutes to build chemistry and learn how much they can ask of the combination. It is the kind of lineup question that can linger well beyond the exhibition schedule, because the answer could help define how San Antonio structures its backcourt rotation when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
P.J. Washington Is Already Shaping A Mavericks Rookie Behind The Scenes
The Spurs got an early look at Dylan Harper in Fridays preseason opener, even if the lineup script changed before tipoff. Mitch Johnson had planned to start Harper in place of Julian Champagnie, but the personnel shuffle opened the door for Champagnie to keep the spot while Harper still made a strong first impression, giving San Antonio another reminder of why his arrival has become such a focal point for the fall.
Harpers debut fit neatly into a broader camp theme around the Spurs: the young core is being asked to grow fast, and the veterans are being asked to help steer it. Johnson and several players have already pointed to Devin Vassells progress as a leader, while across the division, Dallas has shown how much behind-the-scenes teaching matters, with P.J. Washington already working with rookie Morez Johnson Jr. on the Mavericks side of things. [Read more 🡒]