NBA Headlines – Spurs bench Wembanyama for Summer League after only two appearances

Ben Madilynn July 11, 2023

The NBA Summer League offers a look at the future of basketball, where new and up-and-coming talents can showcase their abilities. Victor Wembanyama was a 7-foot-2 French basketball phenom who captured the attention of basketball fans. Wembanyama had high hopes for the Summer League, but the San Antonio Spurs cut his time on court short. Spurs shut him down after just two games. Fans and analysts are left wondering what might have been.

Wembanyama was not able to showcase his full potential. The Spurs’ decision, however, to limit his playing-time can be viewed as a deliberate action to protect their investments. Wembanyama, as one of the most coveted prospects in recent times, is vital to the long-term success of both the team and player. Spurs prevent any injuries or fatigue that could occur during the Summer League to ensure Wembanyama’s ability to continue developing under their guidance. It may be disappointing to fans that they haven’t seen Wembanyama at his best yet, but this decision shows the Spurs commitment to developing young talent.

Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs reacts to a play made against the Portland Trail Blazers in the second half a NBA summer league basketball match Sunday, July 9 2023, Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

LAS VEGAS — Victor Wembanyama’s first, and likely last, Summer League is over.

San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs have decided that they’ve seen enough of the No. The San Antonio Spurs said Monday that they have seen all the information needed from the No.

Wembanyama finished with 36 points, 20 boards, eight blocks, and three assists in two games. He shot 41% from the floor. He played approximately 54 minutes.

Spurs had never intended for Wembanyama play the entire Summer League. The Spurs will now have the opportunity to look at other players with the minutes that he would have played.

“I’m going to sit down with the Spurs to know what the next months are going to be like,” Wembanyama, who was to end his summer with a bang, said this on Sunday night. “When to go on vacation, when to start back working out, where I’m going to practice, in San Antonio or somewhere else. I just know I’ve got two to three months — two to three great months — that are coming and they’re going to change my life.”

Shutting him down from games — San Antonio has either three or four games left in Las Vegas — starts what will be a needed break for the 19-year-old from France whose last professional season in his homeland started nearly a year ago. He played in the French playoffs until just a few days prior to the draft, in June. Since then, his schedule has become frantic.

Spurs believes he will need a break to reset and rest before the start of training camp in early October, and then a 82-game season.

“In the past month, I think basketball wasn’t even 50% of my schedule,” Wembanyama said. “I can’t stand it. I know it’s a special moment in my life, but I’m glad it’s over. Honestly. I just want to hoop. I just want to work out, lift because this is my life. Obviously, every first pick is going to go through this. And it just makes me better for the future.”

Spurs’ Las Vegas trip has been an exciting one. Wembanyama made his debut in Las Vegas on Friday with a circus atmosphere, a sold out crowd, and a lot of attention. Sunday’s match was not quite as big but still large. Gregg Popovich was announced as the new coach and team president for the next five years between these two games.

Wembanyama’s reaction to the Popovich signing was as expected.

“There’s something great going on, starting,” Wembanyama said. “We kind of knew it was going to happen, but now it’s, let’s get it rolling. We can get started now.”

Wembanyama took part in the NBA’s required rookie transition program on Monday, where he spoke with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver — who has raved about the 7-foot-3 star many times since first meeting him in Paris in January.

“I’m not sure if anything else I’d say could put more pressure on him, because there’s already so much pressure on him and attention,” Silver spoke Monday at the Associated Press Sports Editors Convention in Las Vegas. “But it seems, at least initially, that he’s well equipped to handle it.”

Wembanyama has been a hit with teammates, opponents, and even NBA legends such as Kareem Ab-Jabbar and Jerry West.

“The difficulty is learning how you can best contribute to a winning effort,” Abdul-Jabbar said to him. “That’s what you’ve got to learn how to do with your skill set. You will find out what that is basically in preseason. You’ll find out a lot about that.”

Vegas is known as a showtown. Wembanyama performed a show. The Spurs were satisfied. His focus now shifts to the first season of his career.

“He’s amazing,” San Antonio’s Blake Wesley is a San Antonio guard. “He’s an amazing person on and off the court.”

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