After each Victor Wembanyama game with the San Antonio Spurs, 20 minutes summarizes in a few lines what you need to remember about the prowess of the great French hope. Sunday evening, the Spurs ended up losing in a match as exciting as it was indecisive against Philadelphia (126-133), with double overtime at stake. “Wemby” and his team confirmed that they finished their season well, with four wins and three narrow defeats in the last seven games in the NBA.
His stats sheet
The future rookie of the year was as usual in almost all the good plays against Philly. If Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey reigned over the match with his 52 points, Victor Wembanyama took advantage of the absence of Joel Embiid (still injured) in the paint. 33 points, 18 rebounds, 7 blocks, 6 assists, plus an incredible 5/10 from three points, that’s the extent of the work.
When we think back to certain slightly frustrating moments of its use by Gregg Popovich, it’s very nice to see the former Met spend 43 minutes on the floor, certainly also thanks to the double overtime. The only major (recurring) downside: the 9 lost balls from the French giant, which almost gave him a “triple-double” that was less impressive than usual. At the same time, when you see how much of Spurs’ playmaking he is responsible for…
The action of the night
We could obviously dissect some new impressive dunks and blocks, but his most decisive action of the night was quite an offering. Served with his back to the basket (and very high) by Devonte’ Graham, at 108-109 six seconds from the end of regulation time, “Wemby” anticipates the help of Tyrese Maxey and delivers a volley pass towards Julian Champagnie in the corner.
At the time, the replacement winger perfectly justifies his name by sending a three-point arrow clutch as desired (111-109). Only problem: Tyrese Maxey goes straight away to snatch overtime at the last second of play (111-111). The caviar of Victor Wembanyama (at 1’22 in the video below) would have deserved better, but it says a lot about his knowledge of the game, at only 20 years old.
His statement to remember
This time there is no question of analyzing his game or that of his young team. No, the inside of the France team expressed all its admiration after the meeting on Nicolas Batum, his probable partner with the Blues during the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“ Nico Batum, I’ve never heard anyone say bad things about him in the NBA, especially in terms of play. Sometimes we’re told that when it’s Batum defending on us, we have to pass the ball. That shows how good he is and how much the Sixers are very attached to him. He is such a valuable player that everyone would love to have him on their team. »
Enough to get along well with your captain in the selection, right? With 9 points, 7 rebounds and a big long shot to allow Philly’s comeback at the end of the game on Sunday, it must be said that Nicolas Batum is still not turning 35 on the court this season.
Spurs dynamics
We cannot accuse San Antonio of “tanking” at the end of the season. For two weeks, Gregg Popovich’s men have brought down the Suns, the Knicks and the Pelicans, all on track to participate in the play-offs. And after a short setback against the defending champion Denver (110-105), they show that they can battle with a solid team like Philadelphia. But despite the positive results (4 wins-3 losses) over the period, the Spurs (19 wins-59 losses) have very little chance of catching up with Portland (21 wins) to avoid the wooden spoon in the West, with four games at the end of the NBA regular season.