SALT LAKE CITY – Victor Wembanyama’s playmaking stood out as a bright spot in the Spurs’ 102-98 preseason loss at Phoenix on Saturday night.
The 7-foot-4 center had a team-high six assists against only two turnovers to go along with 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes.
Wembanyama shot an inefficient 6 of 14 from the field (0 of 5 from 3-point range), but his court awareness was in mid-season form.
“It’s been great,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said of Wembanyama’s passing in training camp and the preseason, which continues against Utah on Monday night.
Wembanyama finished last season averaging 3.1 assists per game after averaging 3.9 as a rookie and 3.7 in his sophomore season.
“He’s always been a great facilitator,” Castle said. “He sees the floor well. His assist numbers could vary. It’s the way he sees the floor, the way teams guard him. He gets a different look every single game. Just knowing him, he’s going to make the right read for that possession. We want him to be default aggressive in all those situations.”
Said Spurs forward Julian Champagnie, “Whenever the big fella gets going downhill, finds guys, passes the ball, it opens the whole offense up. Eventually it opens his game up more. That’s always been a big part of our offense.”
Wembanyama said he worked during the offseason “on seeing more things happen, slowing the game down.”
“For me, the challenge is always putting everything together because I’ve learned so many things and I always step into the game, trying to apply some things,” he said. “But I think the main thing is if I assess early and continuously, that’s when I can start putting everything together.”