Victor Wembanyama has already put real distance between himself and the rest of the 2023 NBA Draft class, and one detail makes that gap even clearer: he’s the only player from that class to land a rookie max extension from the team that drafted him.
CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn pointed out the trend on August 28, 2026, noting that Wembanyama stands alone while other top names from that draft have not reached the same point yet. The expectation entering the class was that the top prospects would be among the best in years, but the early extension landscape tells a different story.
“Victor Wembanyama is the only 2023 draftee to get a rookie extension thus far, and what that tells us is that teams are just not auto-maxing anymore. Like, a few years ago, Amen, Brandon Miller and Keyonte George probably all got 25% maxes on like July 5th. Not that NBA anymore. https://t.co/DQNPFKXxks”
Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson still have not signed extensions, though Miller could get one before next season begins. Even with Miller looking solid three years in, and Henderson still searching for his footing with the Portland Trail Blazers, Wembanyama is the only one who has separated himself as a sure thing at the top of the class.
The bigger picture also says something about how teams are handling rookie deals now. San Antonio used to be the kind of franchise that routinely extended its young players, with Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell all getting extensions. That approach has shifted, and the change is league-wide, not just in Texas.
Rising rookie salaries have made those decisions more expensive, and teams are increasingly willing to wait and let players reach restricted free agency rather than locking them in early and taking on the risk.
The Spurs themselves were expected to take that route with Jeremy Sochan before ultimately waving him before it got to that point. After that, they struck out on Sochan, Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley, then got back on track with Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.
That has left San Antonio with the best young core in the NBA, built around Wembanyama. The source material even frames the Spurs as having gone from the draft lottery to the NBA Finals in just one season.
And Wembanyama’s extension only reinforces how far ahead he is of the rest of his class. He got the max, and he turned down a super max. The other players from the 2023 class, meanwhile, are still trying to prove they belong in the same conversation.
In Other News...
Spurs Final Roster Spot Comes Down To A Familiar Frontcourt Decision
The Spurs roster picture has settled into a familiar late-summer holding pattern, with 14 players already on standard contracts and three on two-way deals as they look ahead to the 2026-27 season. The remaining open spot has been treated as a frontcourt decision for a while, and Kelly Olynyk has remained part of the conversation after spending the offseason working out with the team.
Olynyks fit is obvious enough from a Spurs perspective: he brings size, passing touch and the kind of veteran presence that can steady a bench group over the course of a long season. His contract has expired, but the expectation around the team is that a reunion remains in play, leaving one last roster move tied to timing as much as personnel. [Read more 🡒]
Tobias Harris Could Force Tough Spurs Lineup Calls Late In Games
Tobias Harris arrived in San Antonio on a two-year, $31 million deal in July, and even before he has played a game for the Spurs, he is already being framed as one of their most important offseason additions. Bleacher Report picked Harris as the clubs best pickup, pointing to the veterans shooting and experience as useful traits for a team that is trying to build on a strong season and keep adding layers around Victor Wembanyama, who recently signed his rookie-scale extension.
The interesting part is not just that Harris fits, but where he fits when games tighten up. San Antonio has enough young talent to make its late-game rotation crowded, and Harris gives the coaching staff another proven option to lean on when the lineup shrinks. For a team trying to take the next step, those decisions tend to matter as much as the bigger roster headlines, and Harris could end up forcing some of the toughest ones. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Have Two Rising Stars In A Sneaker Race Worth Watching
The leagues sneaker pipeline keeps getting more crowded, and San Antonio has a front-row seat to it through two of its young standouts. Victor Wembanyama is already part of Nikes signature line conversation, while the broader NBA landscape keeps adding names with their own shoe ambitions, from established stars to the next wave of prospects looking to turn on-court success into a brand.
Stephon Castle is also in the mix on the apparel side, giving the Spurs another rising player with off-court marketing juice to watch. For a franchise building around young talent, those kinds of deals matter beyond the style points. They signal how quickly a players profile can grow, and how much attention San Antonios core is starting to draw from the sneaker world as much as the basketball one. [Read more 🡒]