Victor Wembanyama didn’t need a full workload to leave his mark Friday night.
Fresh off a career-high 52 points against the Dallas Mavericks, the San Antonio Spurs star kept rolling in a 124-109 win over the Sacramento Kings. In just 26 minutes, Wembanyama piled up 30 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks and two assists, shooting 10-of-18 from the floor and 4-of-6 from deep. The Spurs stretched their winning streak to seven and moved to 7-2.
Wembanyama also added another line to his growing defensive resume. According to Novig, he has now blocked at least two shots in each of his first nine games this season, the second-longest streak to start a season in NBA history. Only David Robinson has done better, opening the 1992-93 season with 14 straight games of at least two blocks.
The night wasn’t entirely clean for San Antonio, though. Wembanyama twisted his left ankle after landing on Domantas Sabonis' foot while going up for a three-pointer. The foul was later upgraded to a Flagrant 1 against Sabonis.
Still, Wembanyama was able to return and looked comfortable after the scare. His presence helped the Spurs hold off Sacramento when the Kings tried to make things interesting after halftime.
San Antonio’s win also came with plenty of support around its centerpiece. Stephon Castle finished with 19 points and seven assists, while Dylan Harper and Devin Vassell each scored 19. Harrison Barnes added 13 points, one rebound and one steal as the Spurs kept the pressure on throughout.
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Spurs Bench Problem Is Putting Luke Kornet Under Real Pressure
Luke Kornets first playoff run as a Spurs backup center has come with a little more heat than he saw a year ago, and not in a good way. His defensive numbers have slipped compared with last season, with opponents finding more success at the rim when he is on the floor, which matters even more for a team that leans so heavily on Victor Wembanyama to anchor the defense.
The bigger issue is what happens when Wembanyama sits. San Antonio has been trying to keep those minutes from turning into a soft spot, but Kornets struggles have put real pressure on that plan, and the Spurs do have another option in Tarris Reed Jr. Reed has barely played, yet his presence gives the staff something to consider if it wants a different look behind Wembanyama. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Just Passed An Early Spurs Test Fans Were Watching
Victor Wembanyama has already had to answer one of the first questions that follows any young star into a new season: how will his body hold up when the games get physical? In a pair of early tests, he rolled his ankle against the Dallas Mavericks and later dealt with another ankle injury against the Sacramento Kings, but in both cases he was back on the floor quickly enough to ease some of the concern around him.
For the Spurs, that matters as much as anything else right now. Wembanyama and his teammates point to the work he puts into body care and preparation as a big reason he has been able to keep going through those moments, and it is the kind of detail San Antonio will keep watching closely as his workload grows and the season wears on. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Need One Real Test Before Contender Talk Gets Serious
The early numbers around San Antonio are hard to ignore. The Spurs sit in the top five in offensive rating, defensive rating and net rating, which is the kind of profile that naturally starts to push a team into bigger-picture conversations. Still, the schedule has been soft enough that it is fair to wonder how much of that success is a reflection of who they have played and how much is a sign of a team ready to matter in a real way.
Golden State is part of the next stretch that should help sort that out. Games like that tend to tell you more than a month of favorable matchups ever can, especially for a young group still trying to prove its ceiling is as high as the numbers suggest. If the Spurs keep stacking strong performances against better competition, the contender talk gets a lot more serious. [Read more 🡒]