Gregg Popovich, manager of San Antonio Spurs, praised Victor Wembanyama’s record (15 points) for his first game in the NBA despite the threat of exclusion which quickly hovered over the Frenchman’s head.
Victor Wembanyama (19 years old) did not make it easy for the first match of his career in the NBA, on the night from Wednesday to Thursday during the defeat of the San Antonio Spurs against Dallas (119-126). The Frenchman spent part of the match with the threat of exclusion hanging over his head after committing five fouls.
“We saw his maturity”
Despite this, he did rather well with 15 points (five rebounds, two assists, two interceptions, one block and a 66% skill, 6/9 on shots) in 23 minutes of play. His record earned him the praises of Gregg Popovich, his legendary Spurs manager.
“One of the hardest things for a player is to find yourself blocked by mistakes,” he explained at a press conference. “You never have rhythm. You come in, you go out. But we saw his maturity despite his young age when he came in for the last 7 minutes. We played for him. He did some good things, great execution .”
“A lot of players would have been inside because of his fouls and the pace problem. I think he had an exceptional finish considering that.”
The Spurs coach himself managed the risk of exclusion of the first Frenchman in history drafted in first position last June. He regularly sat him on the bench, like at the start of the fourth quarter, so as not to expose him too much.
Can Wembanyama make Spurs win right away? – 25/10
And it worked rather well: during his return to the floor at the end of the match, “Wemby” scored seven points in a few minutes to give hope to his team, who somewhat forgot to play with him in their last possessions.
NC with Arnaud Valadon in San Antonio
2023-10-27 04:04:14
#Popovichs #praise #Wembanyamas #grand #premiere
