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04/17/26 08:48:00
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04/17 08:46 CDT Spurs' Victor Wembanyama says he can't help but dream about NBA
titles. His first chance is here
Spurs' Victor Wembanyama says he can't help but dream about NBA titles. His
first chance is here
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
He's probably going to be the runaway, if not unanimous, choice for defensive
player of the year. He's going to make this season's All-NBA team. He's going
to get some MVP votes. He's already a global superstar.
Victor Wembanyama has met every expectation. Except, perhaps, his own.
He came to the San Antonio Spurs three years ago as the No. 1 draft pick and
hoping to lead a revitalization, one where a perennial title contender that got
stuck in a rebuilding cycle would finally rise again. So far, so good --- the
Spurs just finished their best season in a decade, going 62-20.
And now, the really good stuff --- the playoffs --- awaits.
"How ready? As ready as you can be," Wembanyama said when asked about his level
of preparation for his first look at the NBA postseason. "These moments, it's
really what you work on all year, but also your whole career. We're dreaming of
playoffs as kids before we come here."
History says these second-seeded Spurs, who open the Western Conference
playoffs at home against No. 7 Portland on Sunday night, could be poised to
make a deep run.
Of the other 15 clubs in franchise history that finished with a winning
percentage of .700 or better, 14 won at least one playoff series, 10 made the
NBA's final four, six went to the NBA Finals and five won championships.
The core then: Gregg Popovich as coach, leading names like Tim Duncan, Tony
Parker and Manu Ginobili. The core now: Mitch Johnson as coach, leading names
like Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox and Wembanyama --- who seems to make all
things possible.
"He's embraced the city and the city's embraced him, the stepping foot into the
community," Johnson said. "And it's been genuine and it's been authentic. ...
It's pretty cool to witness upfront."
To say Wembanyama --- who is at least 7-foot-4, and somehow has other 7-foot
men in the NBA gawking about how tall he seems --- is unique is somehow an
understatement. How many other 21-year-olds in the NBA draw headlines for
spending part of their summers at a Buddhist temple (as he did last summer) as
part of basketball training, bring books to read at the All-Star Game (to the
disbelief of some fellow All-Stars) and can show off math skills during press
conferences (as he did of late while debating the NBA's 65-game rule)?
Not many.
"He's unique," Spurs forward Harrison Barnes said, knowing he was stating the
obvious.
Wembanyama's numbers this season: 1,600 points, 736 rebounds, 199 assists, 197
blocked shots, 122 3-pointers. Nobody in NBA history has ever finished a season
with those totals, and the blocked shots are the biggest factor in why he
stands alone there.
So, take the blocks out. Grade him in history on points, rebounds, assists and
3s for a season. Do that, and here's the full list of players to reach his
totals in just those categories in one season: Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Love,
Russell Westbrook, DeMarcus Cousins, Karl-Anthony Towns (twice), Nikola
Vucevic, Julius Randle and Nikola Jokic. That's it.
"He's a 7-5 guy that can handle the ball, shoot, guard the rim, guard the
perimeter, all the little things," said Portland coach Tiago Splitter, who went
to the NBA Finals as a player on some of the great San Antonio teams and was
part of the Spurs' most recent championship in 2014. "It's not a secret. He's a
very good player."
Oddsmakers say San Antonio is the second choice behind only defending champion
Oklahoma City --- the West's No. 1 seed --- to win the NBA title. That means
there is an expectation, and a realistic one, that Wembanyama's playoff debut
might not just be a smashing success but might wind up bringing the ultimate
success.
He was rookie of the year two years ago. He was on his way to winning defensive
player of the year last season before his year got cut short by a diagnosis of
deep vein thrombosis. He's eligible for all the big NBA awards this season, and
basketball fans seem like they simply cannot get enough info about everything
he does.
Now, the NBA's biggest stage awaits San Antonio's biggest star. He's played for
Olympic gold before, so he knows what extremely high-stakes basketball is like,
but his first chance to compete for an NBA championship is finally here.
"I can't really help but dream about it, of course," Wembanyama said. "But we
have to stay grounded, stay in the moment. And before even thinking about Game
1, I have to think about showing up the right way. Practice, doing all my
stuff, preparing, being locked in on the scouts. But yeah, I dream about it
every day."
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
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