Victor Wembanyama didn’t only toy with two NBA greats, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry, but also scored 19 points against the Golden State Warriors, as he continues to warm up ahead of first NBA season with the San Antonio Spurs.
The 19-year-old, seven-foot-four power forward, who can also play center, faced the six-foot-two Curry at tip-off ahead of San Antonio’s 122-117 win at Chase Center on Friday night.
The Frenchman is the preseason favorite to win NBA rookie of the year. Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, the likely top challenger, still counts as a rookie because he didn’t play last season and the Spurs expect to be much better right away after finishing last in the Wester Conference last season.
He later impressively blocked Thompson’s three-point attempt with a little less than six minutes left in the first quarter before dunking in transition. ‘My goodness,’ shared basketball writer, Kevin O’Connor, of The Ringer, on X. Wembanyama ended the night with four rebounds and an assist in 21 minutes of action under his belt.
Head coach Gregg Popovich is never one for grand preseason predictions, or even not-so-grand ones. He insists the Spurs will keep it simple, letting Wembanyama learn and develop while everyone around him improves as well.
Five days earlier, he scored a pre-season high of 23 points against the Miami Heat in a 120-104 win for San Antonio. The only loss in which he’s been involved in so far came against the Thunder on October 9 (122-121). In that game, Wembanyama had 20 points, two steals and a block.
‘Wemby’ has so far played in four preseason games ahead of the Spurs’ 2023-24 NBA season opener against the Dallas Mavericks. ‘ He had 15 points, six rebounds, an assist, steal and two blocks against the Houston Rockets in a 117-103 win on October 18.
