Victor Wembanyama, accompanied by excessive expectations, played his first match in the NBA on Wednesday, where the 19-year-old Frenchman and first choice in the last NBA draft can dream of an exceptional destiny.
His San Antonio Spurs delivered a hotly contested duel before losing 126-119 to the Dallas Mavericks, Wembanyama managing 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in 23 minutes of action.
Limited by a large number of mistakes committed, he woke up his team at the end of the match without being able to prevent his team’s defeat.
“It was a lot of emotion, it would have been perfect to win. Maybe I wanted to do too well, I didn’t put my energy into the right things. I don’t need to put so much energy into defense. I’m learning for a first match,” declared the first Frenchman to be chosen first in the draft. “Losing, I hate it, but it’s part of the game. We’re hungry for the next game (Friday against Houston), we really want to start our season with as many victories as possible. »
Wembanyama notably made his first career three-point shot.
” I was happy. It’s significant. This basket in itself is not exceptional. But I hope what I do next will make it special. Tonight really marks the beginning. It’s still a dream, I hope to keep this dream feeling. Before the match I was excited, I was studying videos of my opponents, simple things. I wasn’t stressed. »
Luka Doncic was unsurprisingly the best player of the match thanks already to a first hat-trick of 33 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. However, his presence was uncertain before the match due to a left calf injury. Kyrie Irving added 22 points and Grant Williams had 17.
The 24th choice of the 2023 auction, Quebecer Olivier-Maxence Prosper, did not play.
Keep the head up
Wembanyama, whose debut was among the most anticipated since LeBron James 20 years ago, had success during the preseason, but he didn’t have as many personal foul problems as he did in his first game of the season . The Mavericks were able to take advantage of it.
The rookie had to leave the field after receiving a fourth personal foul with 8:37 remaining in the third quarter.
“I didn’t want to get frustrated, it was important to keep my head up for my teammates. We learn. After my mistakes, I was just focused on being the best I could be when I got back on the field. »
The Mavericks took the lead for the first time in the game just 37 seconds later, following a stride shot from Derek Lively II.
Wembanyama returned to the game midway through the fourth quarter, scoring seven points to energize the crowd, but Dallas forced two turnovers in the final minute of play to confirm their triumph.
His traveling companions, young players with great potential, will grow alongside him, after finishing last in the Western Association in the spring (22 victories in 82 games), far from the past glory of the Spurs (5 titles between 1999 and 2014).
Wembanyama is already dreaming of qualifying for the playoffs in April, which would be a first for San Antonio since 2019.
“I am confident that we can be competitive from the start of the season with this team. In preparation we saw real collective performances,” said the young prodigy after the pre-season.
2023-10-26 04:16:00
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