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Tom Orsborn: Mitch Johnson indicated Victor Wembanyama will be a game-time decision: “It’s the same (right) ankle that’s bothered him some. We will see how it goes. If it’s not tonight, it won’t be long, for sure.” Mitch said Stephon Castle (hip) is improving: “Just give him another day.”
Several other players, including Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox, showed up to support Biyombo. Others in attendance included coach Mitch Johnson and several of his assistants, general manager Brian Wright, franchise CEO R.C. Buford, Spurs managing partner Peter J. Holt and Spurs shareholder Charlie Amato. Wembanayama was one of the first players to arrive. "I actually did not speak to Vic about this," Biyombo said. "I just sent (invitations out) in a group text message, and he just showed up. And the first thing he did was give me this big hug, a full of smile, and I got somewhat emotional and said, "Man, thank you.' ... But that's who Vic is, man."
History could be made this season, as San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama could - and likely should - become the first player ever to win Defensive Player of the Year unanimously. Not only is the French superstar leading the NBA with 3.0 blocks per game, but he also anchors a Spurs defense that ranks Top 3 in defensive efficiency, giving up 110.4 points per 100 possessions.
Comparing Ben Wallace to Wembanyama's cases to be unanimous Defensive Player of the Year is interesting. Wallace averaged more blocks per game at 3.5 to the Frenchman's 3.0, but he played in a much different era, one in which opposing bigs were posting up and trying to get buckets down low. If Wembanyama got posted up more often and wasn't forced to defend on the perimeter as much as today's game demands, there's little doubt he'd be picking up at least another block or two per game.
According to our research, using an archetype-weighted composite score with a team defense anchor bonus, Wembanyama is the top defender in the league this season with a score of 34.5. The next closest player to him in the metric isn't even Holmgren (28.9, third), either, but Holmgren's teammate, Wallace (29.1).
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Victor Wembanyama buried a go-ahead 17-foot fadeaway over Oso Ighodaro with 1.1 seconds left to lift San Antonio to a 101-100 triumph over the Phoenix Suns. The shot marked Wembanyama's first go-ahead make in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime in his career, after missing on five previous attempts, according to ESPN Research. "We know it's not going to be an open shot most of the time," Wembanyama said. "In this situation, you want to wait. If you take a shot too early, whether you make or miss it, you're shooting yourself in the foot because the defense would probably get the rebound and have time or inbound and have time. So, you want to shoot it as close to one or two seconds [remaining]. This way, we have a chance to get an offensive rebound if we miss and if we make [it], they don't have time."
San Antonio is 20-2 since Feb. 1, the best mark in the NBA over that span. The Spurs finally ended their longest playoff drought (six seasons) in franchise history. Before this latest bout with futility, San Antonio had never missed the postseason in back-to-back seasons. "I'm happy for the city, the community and the organization," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "To be a part of that process is rewarding." Wembanyama, meanwhile, credited De’Aaron Fox, the first winner of the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year award, for anticipating "what the defense would do, so [he] kind of told me what to do" on the go-ahead jumper that won the game.
Justin Russo: Random factoid: Trey Murphy III is 3 dunks away from being the third player this season to log at least 100 dunks and 100 made 3s. The two who have done it so far are Victor Wembanyama and OG Anunoby. Murphy would be the only player this season to get to 100 dunks and 200 3s.
Who will be the NBA's best in five years? Here's our projection: 1. Victor Wembanyama; 2. Anthony Edwards; 3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander; 4. Luka Doncic; 5. Cade Cunningham; 6. Cooper Flagg.
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And, of course, they have Wembanyama at the center of it all. "He's probably outside of my wife (former Texas Tech and San Antonio FEAST basketball standout Recee Caldwell), the most competitive person I've ever met," Fox said. "Whether it's training camp, practice, a shooting drill, the All-Star Game, it doesn't matter. Vic's trying to win. And even after some games, he's like, 'Yeah, I want to be MVP,' and some guys don't say that. I don't think it's being cocky or anything like that, that's the way that he is. "He wants to be the best player on the floor every time he steps on the floor."
Maxime Aubin: Here’s what Victor Wembanyama told me (in French) about the management of his health and the back-and-forth with the Spurs staff: “I’m not sure I can call them negotiations, but we do have a lot of discussions. I don't give my trust easily, but the Spurs have made big progress over the past three years — in basketball, tactics, analytics, health and performance. That’s why I trust them more and more, because I also understand more and more what all of that really means.”
Tom Orsborn: As the playoffs loom, Wemby said the Spurs can't get ahead of themselves: "It's a lot of anticipating, but we still got to stay in the moment, attack 82 games of the regular season. ... We can't skip steps, but it's definitely super exciting."
Channing Frye on Victor Wembanyama: "He is the NBA's golden child. He's crying during regular season games. He's out reading books. He's a hooper. He be talking [ __ ] He don't like other teams. He's a dog. He plays defense. He says things out loud that everyone assumes, right? And he says them with this like, ‘Oh, I'm going to work towards it.’ He's not saying like, ‘Oh, I deserve it.’ He's saying, ‘Yes, I have to step on the gas.’” “There's humility, but then there's like the the journey of like, dude, even if you don't make it, I respect the [ __ ] out of you. That that is a goal that you have because a lot of guys wouldn't put that out there.”
