Victor Wembanyama looks like he could be the real deal, and it’s only the Spurs’ second preseason game.
In their 120-104 victory over the Heat on Friday, Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick in June and the 7-foot-4 French star, compiled 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting, while adding four rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
And throughout his 23 minutes of court time, Wembanyama created a series of highlights from an alley-oop, a block near the rim and a dunk that looked like it would’ve been a regular shot near the basket.
“I’m most comfortable when I change the way I play — from game to game, but also in the middle of a game,” Wembanyama said postgame, according to CBS Sports. “I think it’s the key for me for my development.”
Wembanyama entered the 2023 NBA Draft as the clear-cut option at No. 1 overall, but it didn’t mean that his skillset — most recently showcased with the Metropolitans 92 in France — would immediately translate to the NBA.
There were growing pains in his first Summer League game, when then-Hornets center Kai Jones slammed a posterizing dunk around him with a sold-out crowd watching.
He went just 1-for-8 from the field to start that game, too.
But Wembanyama followed that performance with 27 points and 12 rebounds in the Spurs’ second Summer League game — and his last one before getting shut down — against the Trail Blazers, and it appears his strides from those two games carried over into San Antonio’s training camp and now the preseason.
Against the Heat on Friday, Wembanyama started by blocking Haywood Highsmith’s shot attempt in the game’s opening minutes.
Then, later in the second quarter, he helped force a steal by Jeremy Sochan, trailed the guard in transition and finished a dunk.
And at one point in the second half, Wembanyama collected a pass near the right block around a cluster of players.
He shifted the ball to his left hand, took a dribble and lifted his left arm — just as he would for any other layup around the same area — but instead slammed the ball through the net.
“He’s obviously a gifted player who was very humbly trying to find his place,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said postgame, according to ESPN. “I called one play for him all night and I think he got over 20. He just did that because he’s a good basketball player and he understands how to play, so we have to make sure that we blend that with everything else that we have.”
Wembanyama and the Spurs continue their preseason Monday against the Rockets, before they meet Houston again Wednesday.
San Antonio concludes its preseason schedule Friday against the Warriors.
Wembanyama is on track to make his NBA regular-season debut on Oct. 25 vs. the Dallas Mavericks.
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