The new star of French basketball was penalized for a long time by mistakes, before showing his advantage at the end of the match, without managing to bring his San Antonio Spurs to victory.
The discovery of serious things in the NBA will not have been a long, quiet river for Victor Wembanyama. The French interior was unable to avoid the setback of his new team, the San Antonio Spurs, who had selected him as the first choice in the last NBA draft, against the Dallas Mavericks (126-119) on Wednesday October 25. The former Metropolitans 92 player did not weigh in during the first three quarters of the match, before signing a top-notch end to the game (15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 interceptions, but 5 lost balls).
The “alien” Wembanyama has long returned to earth. Against the Mavericks, “Wemby” looked like a young beginner at the start of the school year, with his share of pressure and clumsiness. In the tone of the outside shot as well as the counterattack on star Kyrie Irving in the first quarter, the strong winger (too) quickly disappeared from the floor for having quickly piled up dispensable fouls. Willful but sometimes a little naive defensively, Wembanyama only played 23 minutes out of the 48 in the match. “Maybe I wanted to do too well, I didn’t put my energy into the right thingshe reacted at a press conference. I don’t need to put so much energy into defense.“
In difficulty against a smaller but more physical opponent
He was able to see the difference between the European game and that played across the Atlantic, which is much faster and more athletic. The neo-Texan thus suffered against Dallas winger Grant Williams, small but very strong and tough. Victor Wembanyama showed frustration at not being able to express himself offensively. What then looked like a frankly missed premiere took on a different look in barely three minutes.
Returning to the game seven minutes from the end with his five fouls (the sixth would have been synonymous with permanent exclusion), Wembanyama displayed his qualities in attack, his success in shooting – 3/5 to three – points on Wednesday – to his size advantage well exploited. His nine points scored made people believe in victory for Spurs, in a hitherto unfinished match. But forgotten in the last moments by his teammates, the Frenchman could only be a spectator of the decisive series in Dallas, led by the Slovenian conductor Luka Doncic, as often astonishing (33 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists decisive).
Victor Wembanyama will not have darkened the statistics sheet as much. But he will have had a first fairly faithful glimpse of what could be on the menu for his first season in the NBA: XXL expectations from the public and observers, opponents ready to steal the spotlight. It’s now up to him to show off his ability to progress and understand the game. San Antonio hosts the Houston Rockets, swept away in Orlando (116-86) for their first match of the season, on the night of Friday to Saturday.
2023-10-26 06:01:50
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