San Antonio Spurs Wiretap

Victor Wembanyama: I'm At 15 Percent Of My Ability Today

Apr 16, 2024 8:56 AM

San Antonio Spurs rookie big man Victor Wembanyama is excited for the future. That includes both the short and long-term.

The 7-foot-4 rookie said he "maybe" surpassed expectations as a rookie. Wembanyama said a goal is to be more consistent next season, as he cited Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo as players who "respond to every game".

When asked about his improvement throughout his rookie season, the Spurs big man said he thinks he has lots of room to improve.

"I think in terms of the evolution between my first match and my prime, I'm at 15% of my ability today," Wembanyama said.

In the near term, Wembanyama said he's excited to get back to his home country of France, including "food I miss". He's also excited for this summer's Olympics in Paris.

"It's going to be huge," Wembanyama said about being a part of French national team. "When I'm on the pitch, I'll give 200%, as I do every time I wear this shirt. It's going to be amazing, and I'm going to be there, like a kid, enjoying the moment."

Sebastien Ferreira/Le Figaro

Tags: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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Brandon Miller, Victor Wembanyama Named NBA's Rookies Of March

Apr 2, 2024 4:24 PM

Brandon Miller and Victor Wembanyama have been named the NBA's Rookies of the Month for March.

Miller averaged 18.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the Charlotte Hornets.

Wembanyama averaged 23.2 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.8 blocks for the San Antonio Spurs. 

Miller and Wembanyama each won the award previously in January and February. 

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Tags: Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Award

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Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan Out For Rest Of Season

Apr 2, 2024 1:37 AM

Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan will miss the rest of the season, the San Antonio Spurs announced on Monday.

Vassell underwent an MRI that revealed a stress reaction in his right foot.

Vassell averaged 19.5 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds on the season.

Sochan is set to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle.

Sochan will finish the season averaging 11.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. 

Andrew Lopez/ESPN

Tags: Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Injury

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Victor Wembanyama Fined $25K For Throwing Ball In Stands

Mar 31, 2024 2:56 PM

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama was fined $25,000 for throwing the ball into the stands at the conclusion of Friday's game. Wembanyama and the Spurs defeated the New York Knicks in overtime and the rookie center threw the ball into the stands in celebration of the victory.

Wembanyama had 40 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block in leading the Spurs to the upset victory. The 40 points set a new career-high for the Spurs rookie, while the 20 rebounds tied his career-best. Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 61 points for the Knicks in the loss.

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Tags: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Fines

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Jeremy Sochan Could Miss Rest Of Season With Ankle Impingement

Mar 31, 2024 10:10 AM

San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan may see his season come to an unfortunate early end. Sochan had planned to play in every game, but he may now be shelved due to a left ankle impingement. 

Sochan was hurt in the first half of Friday's victory over the New York Knicks. He missed the second half and has already been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Golden State Warriors.

Sochan had previously said his goal was to play each game ahead of this summer's Olympics. Sochan is part of the Polish National Team.

"I want to play in the Olympics. I feel like we have a really good chance," Sochan said about Poland playing in an Olympic Qualifying Tournament in early July in Spain.

If Sochan's season is over, he'll have started in 73 of the 74 games he played. The second-year forward averaged 11.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

Tom Osborne/San Antonio Express News

Tags: Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Injury

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Victor Wembanyama Ruled Out For Monday's Game With Sprained Left Ankle

Mar 25, 2024 3:20 PM

Victor Wembanyama will miss Monday's game against the Phoenix Suns due to a sprained left ankle.

Wembanyama was ruled out after participating in San Antonio's morning shootaround to test his ankle.

Wembanyama sustained the injury during Saturday's 131-106 loss to Phoenix.

Wembanyama is averaging 20.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.4 blocks, 1.3 steals and 29 minutes.

ESPN

Tags: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Injury

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RealGM Radio: Mo Dakhil On The Season So Far (Mar 2024)

Mar 23, 2024 2:12 PM

Host Danny Leroux and Mo Dakhil of The Athletic and Bleacher Report talk about the NBA season so far.

They discuss the wild Western conference playoff picture, properly evaluating success, team-building and much more.

Subscribe to RealGM Radio on Apple Podcasts or via the RSS feed

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Tags: Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs

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Victor Wembanyama To Give Input On Spurs' Offseason Moves

Mar 22, 2024 8:31 AM

It's been speculated that San Antonio Spurs rookie big man Victor Wembanyama won't be patient in waiting for the team to start winning. Wembanyama said he's on the same page with the Spurs, to the point that he'll be involved in offseason transaction conversations.

"It's a lot of communication with the coaches and the front office, to know where we're comfortable with each other in the game and where we're not comfortable to know what kind of pieces we would need to add," Wembanyama said when asked if he'll have input into San Antonio's offseason moves. "It's a lot of discussion, because ... the GM, the front office, they know their job. They can do almost anything with what we got today, but it's a matter of how well they understand us -- the players and the coaches about where we want to go and how we want to develop."

Wembanyama also noted that he and the Spurs front office and coaches are all on the same page as far as moving forward.

"Oh yeah. Yeah. And this is the good thing. I feel like there's no internal fights between us," Wembanyama said. "So, it is good, it's the right way for the future."

Matthew Tynan/Corporate Knowledge

Tags: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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Kyrie Irving: Victor Wembanyama Has The Tools To Be Defensive Player Of The Year

Mar 20, 2024 8:16 AM

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving has gone against San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama a few times now. Irving has come away impressed with the Spurs rookie.

"You got to be aware of him late challenging, and he has the timing of a guard. I don’t know if it’s just he’s played against guards, but I’m just saying, I think he’s got a lot of reps of playing against good guards and guarding them one-on-one. Today, I thought I had a reverse layup and he ended up blocking it on the left side, because I thought he was going to be on the right side. But he has this long wingspan, so he covers up a lot of space. Me as a competitor and challenger, I like going in there and challenging him, because if you can finish on [Victor Wembanyama], I feel like you can finish on anybody in the world. He’s going to block some and he’s going to make you change it, but it’s only going to make you better as a basketball player, and that’s what I want, and I think everybody should relish in that. But also be smart in challenging him, because he does bate you a lot," Irving said. "He does do things like a Defensive Player of the Year would. He’s showing signs that’s he’s exceeded all the Defensive Player of the Year stats of the previous guys that have won it. You guys see it. I don’t know. who they’re going to pick, but I mean he has all the tools to be named Defensive Player of the Year. He’s for sure a candidate. I don’t know how he wouldn’t be, unless the games played and minutes. But every Defensive Player of the Year that’s won the past few years, he’s almost head and shoulder and we still have what 15 or some odd games left? I give him credit for being such a young player but learning on the fly and doing everything he can to get his team wins.”

Irving's Mavs won all three matchups he played in against the Spurs (and the one game between the two that Irving missed), but Wembanyama was impressive each game. The Dallas star is the latest in a long line to hype up the San Antonio rookie big man.

Paul Garcia/Project Spurs

Tags: Kyrie Irving, Victor Wembanyama, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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Gregg Popovich: We Have A Lot Of Possibilities Ahead Of Us

Mar 14, 2024 11:36 AM

The San Antonio Spurs have a tremendous amount of optionality heading into the offseason as they continue to build around Victor Wembanyama.

"We all have opinions every day, coaches meet every day," Popovich said on Tuesday. "We talk about that sort of thing along with everything else. So when the season ends, we'll sit down with management and have that discussion. But whether it's a young team or an older team, every team has that discussion. Changes are made every year. That just goes with the territory."

The Spurs will miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season while Wembanyama is the probable Rookie of the Year.

"I don't pretend to know what we're going to do," said Popovich. "We have a lot of possibilities ahead of us, whether it's money in the bank or draft picks or being creative trade-wise. All those things are on the table. But aren't they for every team? I don't know why we're any different. We're just younger."

Popovich and Brian Wright don't expect to feel any pressure from ownership. 

"If your organization is unable to understand that rebuilding takes time, then you just never get there," Popovich said. "We’re fortunate because we’ve always had under the leadership of the Holt family the ability to do what we think has been best. So we’re always grateful for that."

Tom Orsborn/San Antonio Express-News

Tags: San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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Victor Wembanyama Doesn't Expect To Shut Down Rookie Season Early

Andrew Lopez/ESPN

Victor Wembanyama Likely Out Saturday Due To Right Ankle Sprain

Andrew Lopez/ESPN

Victor Wembanyama Out Thursday With Sprained Right Ankle

ESPN

Brandon Miller, Victor Wembanyama Named NBA's Rookies Of February

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Jamaree Bouyea, Spurs Agree To Two-Way Deal

Shams Charania/The Athletic

Dominick Barlow, Spurs Agree To Standard NBA Deal

Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN

Marcus Morris, Spurs Agree To Buyout

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Victor Wembanyama Signs Ambassador Deal With Louis Vuitton

Kalan Hooks/ESPN

Spurs, Hawks Discussed Trae Young Deal Before Trade Deadline

Howard Beck/The Ringer

Marcus Morris Leaning Towards Joining Timberwolves

Patrick Beverley/The Pat Bev Pod

Several Teams Believe Trae Young Could Be Traded By Hawks In Offseason

Jake Fischer/Yahoo Sports

Pacers Acquire Doug McDermott From Spurs For 2nd Rounder

Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN

Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller Named NBA Rookies Of January

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Victor Wembanyama Says Basketball Is 'Back To A Big Man's Game'

BasketNews.com

Victor Wembanyama May Have Minutes Restriction Lifted Soon

Tom Osborne/San Antonio Express-News

Dejounte Murray Would Welcome Trade Back To Spurs

Dennis Scott/NBA on TNT

Victor Wembanyama To Participate In Skills Challenge

Shams Charania/The Athletic

Spurs Have Made Doug McDermott, Cedi Osman Available In Trades

Marc Stein/The Stein Line

RealGM Radio: Ben Golliver On The The Season So Far (Jan 2024)

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Spurs Granted $1.3M Disabled Player Exception For Charles Bassey

Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN