Too short for a first title: Victor Wembanyama lost last night with the San Antonio Spurs against the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup final (113-124), this mid-season competition created two years ago to revive public interest at the start of winter. Facing New Yorkers who have participated in the NBA finals for four years, the young Texans came close!
Long ahead on the scoreboard, the Spurs ended up bending in the last quarter under the power and efficiency of the Knicks who returned to a title. The largest city in the United States, one of the most emblematic franchises in American basketball, had not won anything for more than 50 years! An anomaly half-repaired, by winning this new competition not as prestigious as an NBA championship title, but on which Victor Wembanyama, engaged in a long-term construction process with San Antonio, would not have spat.
What will the French nugget have learned from these decisive matches, the half then the final, against the best basketball players in the world? This week in Las Vegas will certainly have made him grow. His performance in the final (18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks) was less brilliant than his 20 minutes of play in the semi-final. He also experienced some failures which will make him complain, but we have to believe that his month of absence, due to a calf strain, weighed too much.
He started the match as a substitute but did not hold up. He encourages his teammates, mostly standing, and jumps from time to time. The staff did not hold him back for long: unlike the semi-final against Oklahoma City, where he skipped the entire first quarter, he came into play after 5 minutes.
His start to the match is a bit tricky. While his teammates are in tune and quickly take a small lead of 6 or 7 points, Wemby is struggling offensively. He sends a ball too high for Stephon Castle to recover, then he is moved by Karl-Anthony Towns, ending up on his butt on the ground without a whistle from the referees.
Spike Lee room Fox, Wemby misses a lot
While at the edge of the floor, director Spike Lee, big fan of the New York Knicks, rooms De’Aaron Fox, Wemby continues his somewhat cottony first half. As if his legs were cut off, after playing again on Saturday for the first time in a month. He misses two free throws in a row, then he misses an alley-oop: his reverse dunk (Editor’s note: reverse dunk) crashes into the circle and comes out. Ouch!
He alternates his playing time with Luke Hornet, a solid pivot with a different profile, more static, but very useful in physical play under the basket. Hornet joked before the game: “I’ll let my replacement have some playing time too. » Wemby, for whom this will undoubtedly be the only two matches that he will start on the bench this season, participates in 10 minutes during the first act. A warm-up.
Because everyone has gotten to know the French nugget: he is sometimes uneven in a match but he is almost always efficient in the moments that count. During the third quarter, he participated in his team’s offensive festival by making two consecutive three-point baskets, then a difficult mid-range shot. A treat!
In the stands, fans of the supporters club created by Wemby, the Jackals, shout, like a European kop. Not enough to prevent the Knicks from waking up. “We have to dictate the physicality,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson warned his players in the locker room before the match. The last quarter is dominated by the New Yorkers. Clarkson scores two three-point baskets in quick succession and Mitch Johnson takes two timeouts to break the rhythm.
Opposite, the three French people from New York (Yabusele, Dadiet, Diawara) watch the match from the sidelines. They don’t argue for a single minute and don’t take off their tracksuits. In the last five minutes, Victor Wembanyama tries to take things into his own hands but is imprecise, with two misses, one from mid-distance, another from far away. New York didn’t ask for that much.
“Every time you have the opportunity to hang a banner from the ceiling, you have to take it,” New York coach Mike Brown told his players in his pre-match speech. A bet held by its players, notably Anunoby (28 points) and Brunson named MVP of the final (25). “We were down by 10 points and we found a way to win,” said Jalen Brunson, the New York leader. San Antonio and Victor Wembanyama will have to wait to lift a trophy.
