Victor Wembanyama’s summer was short, and that may be bad news for everyone else in the NBA.
The Spurs star spent part of the offseason with the French national team in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, and he looked sharp right away. In two games, Wembanyama averaged 20 points, 8.5 rebounds and two blocks in 25.4 minutes. For San Antonio, that kind of run works like a built-in tune-up before training camp later this month.
That matters because Wembanyama won’t be easing back into a long layoff. Last year, he had gone seven months without playing an actual basketball game before the season began.
This time, the gap between his games for France and the start of the regular season will be about two months. In other words, there shouldn’t be much rust to shake off.
And he certainly didn’t look rusty when last season opened. Spurs fans still have the memory of his 40 points and 17 rebounds against the Dallas Mavericks in the team’s first game of the year. That performance set the tone for what followed, and San Antonio will be hoping for a similar start when the Spurs face the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 12th.
There’s also a bigger prize in view. Wembanyama finished third in MVP voting last season, and the path to the award looks real again if he clears the 65-game threshold. The source material also notes that it’s rare for players to win MVP more than twice, which could work against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s (SGA) chances and strengthen Wembanyama’s case.
The playoff stage only added to the argument. Wembanyama outplayed SGA during the Western Conference Finals, and if he can carry that level forward while improving, he could make a stronger claim as the NBA’s best player.
For now, the main takeaway is simple: Wembanyama used part of his offseason to stay game-ready, and that gives Spurs fans another reason to be excited.
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Keldon Johnson is one of the players who could feel those ripple effects most. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year has been a steady spark off the bench, and his value only grows if San Antonio needs more proven production in that role while sorting out the rest of its lineup. Johnson is also entering a contract year, so whatever happens next with the Spurs' backcourt could have a real effect on both his usage and his next deal. [Read more 🡒]
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That is where the long-term concern starts to creep in for the Spurs. Wembanyama is already the centerpiece, but Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle give the franchise two more promising young guards to develop, and DeAaron Foxs extension adds another layer to the roster picture as the team looks ahead. The talent is there, but fitting all of it together around one star is going to take some careful decisions. [Read more 🡒]