Even with Wembanyama the Spurs Have a Lot of Work to Do
The San Antonio Spurs were the lucky contestants to draw the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. It was a no-brainer that the Spurs would pick up 7 '4 center Victor Wembanyama with the first pick, due to his tremendous skill set and the ridiculous potential he possesses. San Antonio started off the season 3-2, a pretty decent start for a young team, but since then, the Spurs have lost 12 games in a row. They are the youngest team in the league, as a unit averaging around the age of 23. Although they have their youngest team this season, they have the most veteran, experienced championship-winning coach in Greg Popovich. The Spurs have a solid young core, and yes it will take some time for this team to develop a rhythm, but they have to find a better way to compete within a tough Western Conference.
San Antonio won three of its first five games of this NBA season. This young team beat the Houston Rockets, and the Phoenix Suns twice. The Spurs would start to drop games, losing by 42 points to the Indiana Pacers, and 44 points to the Oklahoma City Thunder. These losses may be embarrassing, but at least San Antonio knows they have a future cornerstone franchise player in Victor Wembanyama. The 7 ’4 center leads the Spurs in points, rebounds, and blocks. In 17 games thus far, Wembanyama is averaging about 19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and three blocks a game. Devin Vassell is the Spurs' second leading scorer averaging 18 points a game. Last season Vassell also averaged 18 a game last year, if he can take the next step and build off of last year’s campaign, Devin could be a future all-star.
On Sunday night, the Spurs lost their 12th game in a row to last year’s champions, the Denver Nuggets 132-120. Two-time MVP and 2023 NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokić said this about 19-year-old Victor Wembanyama, “I think he's 19 years old, he's not getting tired or getting scared. He's playing hard and he wants to be good, like I said, I think he's playing hard, and he doesn't take it for granted. He's making mistakes, which is normal. I think the media around him doesn't help, but he's going to get used to it because the guy is 19 years old. He's going to change the game, 100%. He's already on that path, so for all of the guys just enjoy and watch the show and let the guy change the game." Wemby scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the loss. San Antonio has a chance to end their losing streak Thursday night at home against the Atlanta Hawks.
