SAN ANTONIO — Six high-level, pressure-packed games at the Olympics in France over the summer taught Victor Wembanyama a valuable lesson that he aims to apply in his second NBA season with the San Antonio Spurs.
“It’s hard to win games in the Olympics,” he said. “But it’s very easy to lose games.”
The overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, Wembanyama experienced pressure at the Olympics unlike anything he’s ever faced in the league during a unanimous Rookie of the Year campaign. Wembanyama understands it may be “a long time before I experience something like this” in the NBA, but he also recognizes that applying the lessons learned could speed San Antonio’s path back to contention.
“It was perhaps the most intense sporting experience of my life,” Wembanyama said of the Olympics. “I felt really lucky to have the opportunity to live those experiences. I also felt proud. During all the elimination games, for 40 minutes we were locked in thinking about one thing: the next play. As a team, it builds something to have. this level of concentration, we all to the same goal The emotion is just too much to contain.
So, expect Wembanyama to channel it to help San Antonio improve on its 22-game win total from last season along with veteran new additions Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes. The Spurs fielded the league’s youngest team during the 2023-24 season. But during the summer coach Gregg Popovich watched the team’s franchise cornerstone grow tremendously with Team France.
After the conclusion of the 2023-24, Wembanyama spent about two months in San Antonio working to improve his strength before leaving for the Olympics. The team currently lists Wembanyama at 235 pounds, up 25 pounds from his listed weight as a rookie. The Frenchman said that gaining strength “is the primary thing that allows me to expand my game”, while increasing his ability to play through contact and improving overall athleticism.
Popovich watched the entire work manifest itself in France.
“He improved steadily throughout the Olympics and ended up being very formidable,” Popovich said. “His aggressiveness was the big thing, and physicality. He understands what it takes, what he’s going to get, and what he has to give back to counter something like that. FIBA is much more aggressive. So, it was a wonderful little petri dish for him to be able to to do that every day and every game that’s where he really stepped up He scored 26 points against the American team in the Final David Robinson thing where I didn’t really know he had 26 points It was like that with Victor because he can do so many different things.”
New teammate Barnes watched the Olympics, too, calling the gold medal game a “win-win” as Team USA emerged victorious while Wembanyama also excelled.
“It just shows the growth and maturity he has for a guy his age to play in that kind of moment at home,” Barnes said. “I don’t think people realize just the pressure he was under. To play at that level at that stage, to have a game like that, it was huge. It shows he’s ready to take on a bigger role, not just in the offense or the defense, but just in terms of leading and talking to guys who maybe haven’t been on that stage or been in that situation.”
In fact, shooting guard Devin Vassell offered a bold prediction and warning for the rest of the NBA while discussing Wembanyama’s Year 2 prospects at Media Day. In addition to gaining core strength over the summer, the 20-year-old got into fundamentals while focusing on finishing better at the rim.
Wembanyama also spent time working dribble moves over the summer with Jamal Crawford, the retired three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
“The game slows down for him,” Vassell explained. “He sees everything, the reads, what shots he wants to get to, finishing. Every step of his game is growing. [With] the numbers he put up last year, the runs he made to be [still] improving it will be scary for the league this year. I can tell you that.”
What Wembanyama wants to point to, though, is a fruitful showing on the floor in Year 2 of an arduous summer that he hopes proves key in the young Spurs finally turning the corner on postseason contention.
“These expectations, I’m just managing like I’ve managed everyone else for years,” he said. “I just focus on my real responsibilities. I can say that I’m happy that these skills are recognized. My emphasis will always be to win and make my teammates better. It’s no different than previous years. It’s just that last year, our expectations were to learn and knowing ourselves This year, we expect us to win.”
