In the American Airlines Center, Victor Wembanyama, along with Julian Champagnie, contemplated his performance. His verdict was clear: “That was niiiice”. Moments earlier, the Frenchman had faked, lifting P.J. Washington, then dribbled and finished with a spectacular dunk that made the hoop vibrate and ignited the San Antonio Spurs bench. In a game that ended with a resounding 125-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Wembanyama demonstrated everything he learned during a transformative summer that changed him physically and mentally. “I was much more in control of myself,” Wembanyama declared. “The mind, I’m not worried because I saw what it’s like to face the possibility of losing a lot, whether it’s your career or your health. So I no longer take this for granted. The body? I have more fun now that it doesn’t cost me so much to move. I know I still need to improve and I will continue to do so.” The blocks, the assists, the shots, the refined footwork and post moves, not to mention the intuition to know how to use them, proved that Wembanyama hadn’t played in an NBA game in 8 months and 11 days before the victory against the Mavericks. The lack of practice was non-existent, as Wembanyama dominated, becoming the first player since 1977-78 to score 40 points with 15 rebounds, 3 blocks and 0 turnovers, with 70% field goal efficiency. Wembanyama’s 40 points are the most for a player in a season-opening game in the history of the San Antonio franchise.
Dallas started the game with its starting lineup, with Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II defending the zone. Wembanyama dominated that group, scoring 4 of 5 shots for 11 points with a block in the first quarter. Faking a pass to Harrison Barnes, Wembanyama froze Cooper Flagg, the first draft pick, long enough to gain a step on the rookie and perform a spectacular dunk. Shortly after, Wembanyama assisted Dylan Harper, the second pick, for his first career assist. The Frenchman faked Lively to elevate him and then returned the ball to the Spurs rookie at the top of the key. Harper immediately returned it to Wembanyama for a two-handed dunk over Lively.“He’s been out for eight months,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson commented. “So you saw him take the moment and play spectacularly. But honestly, the most impressive line is zero turnovers. The amount of fundamentally sound plays he made tonight was impressive.”
Mitch Johnson
That’s difficult now that Wembanyama’s teammates have found ways to give him high-efficiency shots. With 8:28 remaining before halftime, second-year point guard Stephon Castle threw an alley-oop in transition to Wembanyama, who outmaneuvered Dwight Powell, for an inverted dunk. It’s clear that last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year spent the preseason working with Wembanyama on their chemistry. Castle and Wembanyama scored or assisted on 42 of San Antonio’s 60 points in the first half, as the Spurs led by nine at halftime.“Man, the guy is 7-3,” Davis said. “I think some of the foul calls were a little questionable. But when he’s 7-3 and standing in front of you, nobody’s going to block a shot. He’s shooting over the top. At that point, you’re just praying he misses.”
Anthony Davis
Wembanyama perhaps achieved the most impressive play of the night during a 10-point streak in the third quarter, in which he made 3 of 4 shots with 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal. Wembanyama blocked a shot by Lively at the rim, which Castle quickly connected to start a counterattack. The point guard immediately returned the ball to Wembanyama, who faked inside before scoring a three-pointer backwards while Lively committed a foul. Wembanyama completed the four-point play to increase San Antonio’s lead to 14 points.“It’s a lot of repetitions, a lot of watching videos together,” Castle said. “I feel like that helps and it’s overlooked a lot. Being able to watch film with a guy you’re going to run a lot of pick-and-rolls with and have a lot of transition points with definitely helped. Being able to know where he likes the ball when there’s a double team, where they’re going to come from. Man, we’ve been working on that all summer, and it’s starting to take shape.”
Stephon Castle
Johnson replaced Wembanyama shortly after he connected on a 13-foot jump shot that put the Spurs up by 30. At that moment, Wembanyama admitted, he began to reflect on his summer of transformation and the long journey initiated in February with a diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis.“It’s incredible. He’s a different player,” Flagg said. “You can’t know what he’s like until you’re on the court with him. It’s something I’ve never seen before. He was great tonight, but we have to do a better job trying to take away some of his shots, and we can’t foul him as much as we did.”
Cooper Flagg
“We needed to make a statement in our locker room. The feeling really was that there was nothing more we could have done to help ourselves today. I felt like we did everything we needed to do. We felt ready and felt that we wouldn’t regret the things we should have worked on or the things we should have done in the summer. I felt comfortable with the work we did and with the preparation up to this point. Now all the dice are cast in the Western Conference.”“It feels like we try to put a brick to build a big mansion every day, and I felt like the job was done for the day,” Wembanyama said. “This is what we’ve been working for. This is what we’ve been fighting for for so long, and I felt like it fit. I felt like I was in my place.
Victor Wembanyama
