The San Antonio Spurs deliberately tried to play down the Victor Wembanyama hype to avoid piling too much pressure on the Frenchman.
Victor Wembanyama reveals his all-time NBA starting five!
Unfortunately, the spaceship is out of the hangar and, with the Alien’s grueling offseason workouts turning him into a specimen the likes of which the NBA has never seen, there can be no more excuses.
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Dylan Harper won the battle of the rookies in the season openerCredit: Getty
San Antonio was a perennial playoff team under iconic coach Greg Popovich, but currently boasts the second-longest postseason drought (six seasons) in the Association.
Two of those have come since Wemby was selected first overall in 2023 and signed a $55m rookie contract.
The Spurs then traded for De’Aaron Fox and gave him $229 million over four years in February to try and make a run, only for both stars to go down injured.
The silver lining was landing formidable prospect Dylan Harper — who’s dad won three NBA titles alongside Michael Jordan — in the 2025 draft, and with the rookie already forming a solid tandem alongside Wembanyama, Fox’s impending return could throw off the dynamic.
De’Aaron Fox returns adds interesting layer to Wemby-Harper dynamic
NBA insider Marc Stein, who thinks the Lakers and Austin Reaves have a big decision to make, wonders if the Spurs would make the same call knowing that Harper would be on board.
“For the first two seasons, the Spurs did go into this wanting to move cautiously, wanting to keep expectations low, not wanting to overtax Victor Wembanyama and really take the long view,” he exclusively told talkSPORT’S Brian T. Smith.
“But then, at the trade deadline last February, trading for De’Aaron Fox, that is a bold step in itself.
“Then Wembanyama and Fox were only able to play in five games together before obviously Wembanyama’s season was cut short by that very scary blood clot. And De’Aaron Fox has had his own health woes.
“Look, one of the great what ifs in the NBA now, and I don’t know that we’ll ever get a candid answer on this one, is would the Spurs have traded for De’Aaron Fox if they knew they were going to get Dylan Harper in the draft?
“Because Dylan, it’s been a strong rookie class overall, but Dylan Harper has looked very good early and he and Wembanyama look very good together.”
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Fox, left, has only played five games with Wembanyama
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Wemby has brought an aggressive mindset into the seasonCredit: Getty
Harper went to the Spurs with the second overall pick after Cooper Flagg joined the Dallas Mavericks.
He has helped the Spurs reach the franchise’s first ever 5-0 start despite Fox being sidelined with a hamstring injury since training camp.
Wemby, of course, has been the main event after putting in the work over the summer.
Officially listed at 7ft 4in — there are many who believe he may be even taller — the 21-year-old is averaging 30.2 points and 14.6 rebounds per game in 2025.
Stein says it is ‘jarring’ to see the Spurs only behind the Charlotte Hornets in the longest active postseason drought, before revealing an inside look at the mentality that turned Wemby into a monster.
NBA’s Greatest
Wembanyama’s mindset and work ethic might be his greatest asset
The Spurs ruined Flagg’s NBA debut with an emphatic 125-92 win as the Alien dropped 40 points and Harper added 15 in just 23 minutes.
“We have never seen a guy that big move the way. And he just like every dunk in that game,” added Stein. “He had seven dunks in that
game and every one was better than the last one.
“And just that the approach was so different and he’s going up against Anthony Davis, who has as good a defensive resume as you will find on this planet. Just the stuff Wemby was doing that night, and has continued to do, the hype, the raves, it’s all justified.
“I think early in his career, he really, we see this with so many players who are tall, they don’t want to be categorized as a center. And so Wembanyama has the crazy handle, he does have three-point range, and it seemed like he really wanted to lean into those things early.
“But he has leaned into playing a power game and after that game — look, everyone in the NBA or close to everyone, all these guys do weights after the game, that’s not unique — but Wembanyama, the unique part was Victor Wembanyama did it in the hallway.
“I’m in the hallway in Dallas. I’m trying to keep track of the Mavs postgame interviews and the Spurs postgame interviews, but I’m just looking down the hall and Victor Wembanyama after just destroying the Mavericks, a 33-point win on opening night, Victor Wembanyama is doing push-ups in the hall.
“I’m just watching this saying, ‘Like what the 40 and 15 wasn’t exhausting enough.’ He did his whole strength routine postgame in the hallway outside the Spurs locker room.
“It was very impressive to watch Victor Wembanyama just churning out these push-ups in the hallway after looking otherworldly.”
Stein thinks the Spurs will try and keep a lid on things, but with Wemby jumping above Nikola Jokic to second favorite in the MVP odd — and climbing in talkSPORT’s rankings of the greatest NBA players in the world right now, the cat may be out of the bag.
The Phoenix Suns are up next on Sunday, and we might finally get to see Wembanyama, Harper, and Fox line up together.
If it clicks, there may not be a team on the planet capable of containing San Antonio.
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