The return of Victor Wembanyama was a message: Spurs are good without him, but with him they can be indestructible. There were twelve games that San Antonio played without the French unicorn. In that period, Mitch Johnson’s team had a record of nine wins and three losses, promising and commendable numbers that show that they are much more than Wembanyama.
What we also know is that without him they are just another team in the NBA.
Wemby begins to live what LeBron James once lived: survive the expectation first to try to overcome it later. LeBron arrived in the League at the dawn of the era of social media and Victor at the dawn of artificial intelligence. Two decades passed between the arrival of one and the other, the world is completely different, but the illusion caused by a biotype that is new to the average is definitely similar.
Wembanyama can do it all, but it needs everyone to do it. He is an impossible player, creator of 360-degree basketball, but it is important to understand that he adds to a structure and not that the structure adapts to him. Beyond encyclopedia figures, this sport was, is and will be a team game: without an ecosystem around it that controls the infinite number of variables that a match has, there is no chance that the Frenchman will be able to show what he knows how to do.
It is what it is, what it seems to be is not enough. In short, not even Vincent Van Gogh could have been who he was if he did not have the canvas, brushes and time to achieve it.
Wembanyama, with his thrombosis first last season, and with his calf ailment in the current one, had his back covered. Injuries are always problematic, but in the case of a gem like the Frenchman, the concern is exacerbated to unsuspected limits. However, his release allowed the development of other ongoing talents. The return of D’Aaron Fox helped a lot, but the essence of this roster is the suffocating pressure of Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper on the first line, supported by a chorus of disciplined students.
The Thunder knew, in the NBA Cup semifinals, what it was like to choke on their own poison. The Spurs caused 15 turnovers to the reigning champion that translated into 26 points in favor. It is very hard to get past the first line of defense and meet Wembanyama in the back yard. It is pure fear that is perceived. Something like coming across a level monster that blocks any attempt or confuses every brave incursion into the land of giants.
Wemby did not play dumb when it came to returning. He did not choose the party to be comfortable, but rather he let the party choose him. Because coming out of being out for 12 games to face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren in a semifinal (of whatever) is not the most hopeful news that an athlete of his magnitude can receive. It’s a risk. However, in the face of widespread doubt, he responded: his team was +21 in the 21 minutes he was on the court, compared to -19 in the 27 minutes he was away.
Adam Silver’s NBA, creator of a mini-tournament within a regular series that has not quite taken off, leaves Wemby with a first great opportunity to win something. Make no mistake, it is not even close to being a championship trophy, but it is at least “something”: the chance to end the hysteria of expectation to finally come to fruition.
What was once assumed, the inventiveness that flew in the imagination of the fantasy of many, can lead to a happy ending. Maybe earlier than expected.
The NBA final against the New York Knicks: a definition without favorites
But of course, opposite is the New York Knicks who have more experience, a luxury leader like Jalen Brunson and a quintet that already knows what it is to play in decisive instances. It hasn’t been given yet, but pieces like Mikal Bridges in the balance or Karl Anthony-Towns in the paint have many battles ahead of them and need an incentive to gain confidence, lift a mid-season light trophy and go with confidence towards the Larry O’Brien that has been denied to the Big Apple for half a century.
It’s an interesting definition because, above all, it doesn’t play favorites. With the Thunder out of action – a credit to the Spurs – we cannot talk about an early championship final. But we can say that San Antonio, at this beginning of the regular series, has been among the best in the old and far West, the most competitive Conference in 2025-26. And that is a huge merit.
Wembanyama or Brunson? That question was poorly formulated. It’s the San Antonio Spurs or the New York Knicks. Two different styles, two different models. The future that wants to get closer to the present, San Antonio, and the present that wants to get closer to a promising future, New York.
The NBA Cup will then serve as a launch platform. More than the end, it is the beginning of something. Who gives more? Starting this Thursday night, we will have answers.
