Victor Wembanyama isn’t pretending the money doesn’t matter. He just made it clear he cares more about what the Spurs can become.
The 22-year-old center explained his decision to take a contract discount in his extension with San Antonio, a move that could save the team a little more than $50 million over five years. Instead of maxing out at 30% of the salary cap, he agreed to 25% - still a five-year, $252 million deal.
Speaking to Jason Jones of The Athletic in a conversation tied to his selection as an NBA 2K27 cover athlete alongside Caitlin Clark and Derrick Rose, Wembanyama said the choice was about protecting the Spurs’ future.
“We have a good team, we had a very good playoff run, and we had a very good regular season. But what’s even better and greater is our potential.
The reality of today’s NBA is that often, the potential of teams is not fulfilled because of money. I just want to make sure it’s never our case.”
That kind of thinking sits right in the middle of the NBA’s second-apron era, where teams are treating the luxury tax line like a hard cap. Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren took the same discount Wembanyama did a year ago, and even then the Thunder had to move on from Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins this summer to stay under that threshold. Boston, meanwhile, traded Jaylen Brown after management said it couldn’t build a contender in the future with him and Jayson Tatum taking up a combined 70% of the salary cap.
Wembanyama appears to be looking ahead to the contracts coming for Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, along with De’Aaron Fox already being on a huge deal, and decided to do his part to keep San Antonio flexible.
And if there were ever a player who could ask for every dollar available, it’s him. At 22, Wembanyama is already playing like the best player on the planet, and the case is only getting stronger. Last season he put up 25 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game, helped lift the Spurs to the NBA Finals, won Defensive Player of the Year unanimously, finished third in MVP voting and earned First Team All-NBA honors.
That’s also why he’s now the face of NBA 2K27, taking over the cover spot Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a year ago for the league’s top-selling sports video game in the United States.
Wembanyama understands what that means beyond basketball, too.
“I know it means a lot culturally, too. It’s hard to realize for me that I’m taking more and more space, more real estate in the world of basketball, in what basketball means, in professional basketball.”
In Other News...
Spurs Suddenly Look Built To Fully Unleash Victor Wembanyama
The Spurs kept their roster churn moving by bringing back David Jones-Garcia on a two-way contract, a move that adds another young piece to a group already built with flexibility in mind. After waiving Emanuel Miller to open the spot, San Antonio now has a full slate of 17 players under contract, with 14 on standard deals and three on two-way contracts.
For a team trying to give Victor Wembanyama the kind of support that can keep him fresh and maximize his impact, the structure matters as much as the names. San Antonio has spent the offseason assembling depth and versatility, the sort of roster construction that should help it stay competitive without leaning too heavily on any one player over the long haul. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Already Left One Supposed Rival Far Behind
Victor Wembanyamas rise has been so fast that the leagues early attempt to frame him against another top young guard already feels dated. The Spurs center has gone from No. 1 pick to the face of a team that has surged back into the Finals conversation, and his new long-term deal only reinforces how firmly San Antonio has built around him.
Scoot Henderson, the player many expected to grow into Wembanyamas natural draft-night foil, has not matched that trajectory. His uneven play has left the comparison looking lopsided for now, with the gap between the two only widening as Wembanyama keeps stacking milestones and Henderson searches for a steadier footing. [Read more 🡒]
Stephon Castle Pick Looks Even Better After Stunning Top Pick Twist
Stephon Castle is already looking like a sturdy win for the Spurs at No. 4 in the 2024 draft, and the comparison game around that class has only gotten louder. What once looked like a straightforward evaluation of who landed where has turned into something more interesting for San Antonio, because Castle has quickly become a key part of the rotation and the kind of two-way piece teams spend years trying to find.
The broader draft picture has shifted again after Oklahoma City moved Lu Dort in a three-team deal with Atlanta and Dallas, another reminder that the top of the 2024 board has already taken some unexpected turns. For the Spurs, the encouraging part is that Castles value is no longer theoretical, and the early returns suggest San Antonio may have come away with one of the most reliable players in the class, even as the rest of the draft continues to sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]