One thing was clear from Victor Wembanyama’s debut — he has San Antonio excited about basketball again. The Frost Bank Center was filled and rocking in a way it has not been since maybe 2014, all because of a 7'4" French phenom. It’s more than just San Antonio, however, ESPN was in San Antonio because the world wanted to see Wembanyama’s debut.
That doesn’t mean things went smoothly.
For the first three quarters of his first NBA game, Victor Wembanyama struggled to find a rhythm. There were flashes — a couple of 3-pointers, a block of a Kyrie Irving pull-up jumper — but the Spurs much-hyped No. 1 pick looked out of sync, partly because he picked up a few fouls that kept him on the bench. Through three quarters Wembanyama was 2-of-4 shooting for six points and was not impacting the game.
Then came the fourth quarter. Wembanyama found a comfort zone, put up nine quick points, and sparked a Spurs run that had them in the game against Dallas.
Wemby has taken over ‼️
— NBA (@NBA) October 26, 2023
He's got 9 PTS in Q4 🔥
📺: Spurs-Mavs | Live on ESPN | #KiaTipOff23 pic.twitter.com/SRzCFdEhUt
Gregg Popovich had nothing but praise for Wembanyama’s performance, his quotes via Tom Osborne of the San Antonio Express-News.
“One of the toughest things for a player is you get into foul trouble and you never get in a rhythm and you’re in and out of the game. So I thought his maturity showed even at a young age…
"[In the fourth quarter] We ran some stuff for him. He executed, when a lot of guys would’ve been totally out of it by then because they, as you said, were in foul trouble and didn’t get their rhythm. So I thought he had a wonderful outing.”
That outing finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting (3-of-5 from beyond the art), with five rebounds, two assists and a block.
Victor Wembanyama in his NBA debut:
— NBA (@NBA) October 26, 2023
- 15 PTS (9 in Q4)
- 5 REB
- 67% FG
Welcome to the Association 💪 #KiaTipOff23 pic.twitter.com/eFWYCoBmy6
It wasn’t enough to get San Antonio the win.
In the clutch, the Spurs played like a young team — one that went away from setting up Wembanyama and instead had guards driving into the paint with no plan. The Spurs had two turnovers and a handful of missed shots in the final minutes.
The Mavericks had Luka Doncic.
Doncic looked every bit the MVP candidate in this game, and with two minutes to go and the Mavericks down one Doncic took over, setting up Kyrie Irving for two buckets and then sinking the dagger with a step-back 3.
“I’m here.” https://t.co/QXnKk8hv8H pic.twitter.com/lUv8r0efHG
— NBA (@NBA) October 26, 2023
Doncic finished with a triple-double of 33 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, leading Dallas to an opening night 126-119 win. Irving and Doncic played well off each other and Grant Williams added 17 points in his Dallas debut (while drawing the Wembanyama assignment for much of the night). For the Spurs, Devin Vassell scored 23 and Keldon Johnson 17.
However, this night will be more remembers as Wembanyama’s debut.
