{"id":714434,"date":"2026-04-20T06:30:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T06:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/714434\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T06:30:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T06:30:56","slug":"nba-playoffs-2026-victor-wembanyamas-dominance-and-a-new-day-for-the-spurs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/714434\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA playoffs 2026: Victor Wembanyama’s dominance and a new day for the Spurs"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO \u2014 As Victor Wembanyama<\/a> ducked under the awning and triumphantly emerged from the tunnel for his pregame warmup ahead of his playoff debut \u2014 an entrance that would make Shawn Michaels proud \u2014 the warm embrace of Frost Bank Center became a stage for the arts.<\/p>\n

At the same time that a sea of proud onlookers whipped out their phones ready to document a piece of history, Spurs<\/a> legend Manu Gin\u00f3bili<\/a>, tucked away in the southeast corner of the arena with his son, reached for his own mobile device as his smile widened in length.<\/p>\n

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At that moment, Gin\u00f3bili wasn\u2019t one of the most decorated figures in the franchise\u2019s illustrious history. Nor was Tim Duncan<\/a> or David Robinson. They were family members and friends alike, gathered in the house that Gregg Popovich helped build to see one of their own walk across the stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time I stepped on the court for warmups, I felt the atmosphere,\u201d Wembanyama said following the Spurs\u2019 111-98 Game 1 win over the Blazers<\/a>. \u201cIt was different. Everybody\u2019s ready. The fans are ready. It\u2019s probably the most excited I\u2019ve seen this area, this arena.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time Wembanyama walked off the floor in the final minute to a sea of roaring, rising cheers, the game already decided long before, the Frenchman\u2019s stamp on the evening \u2014 and perhaps the series \u2014 had been made: 35 points on 13-for-21 shooting in 33 minutes to go along with five rebounds and two blocks. A Portland<\/a> bench stunned, confused and dazed. In some ways, it felt like a coming-out party. In other ways, it simply felt like a reminder; a continuation of a regular season lost in superlatives, new heights and records. A 22-year-old isn\u2019t supposed to command a five-man group, let alone a gathering of 20,000 people. But this dominance, this elegance, is the new normal.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think that there\u2019s an approach that we all have,\u201d Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said, \u201cin terms of an expectation of the level of preparation, detail, nuance, competitiveness, physicality, everything. And I think there\u2019s a real desire from that young man to want to participate in that. This is his first playoff game, and he has lofty expectations and goals for himself. Being in the playoffs is squarely a part of that, so it\u2019s good to get the first one and get that experience under your belt.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unfortunate truth for the Blazers, as they attempt to course correct to avoid a 2-0 hole, is that from a pure structural standpoint, there are a number of similarities between themselves and the Spurs. Both teams share a willingness to let it fly from deep (Portland is fourth in 3-point rate, San Antonio is 14th.) Both teams also hunt shots at the rim, each among the top seven in rim rate. The Blazers are ninth in pace and Spurs are 12th. And the two teams are among the league\u2019s best in offensive rebounding \u2014 Portland being fourth, San Antonio ninth.<\/p>\n

But the difference: A 7-foot-4 shot-altering, three-level two-way wrecking ball is an otherworldly distinction. It\u2019s like saying the Earth and the moon are structurally similar, but one possesses an atmosphere and one doesn\u2019t, therefore it\u2019s the difference between the sustenance of life and the absence of it altogether.<\/p>\n

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It also doesn\u2019t help that Wembanyama took the Blazers\u2019 biggest strength \u2014 their physicality \u2014 and turned it into a weakness. Portland attempted various coverages on the third-year big; Toumani Camara<\/a> got the initial assignment, then Deni Avdija<\/a>, Jerami Grant<\/a>, Jrue Holiday<\/a>, their two centers, the cameraman and the elevator attendant. Fronting him turned into laughable shots at the rim, whether they were outright dunks or fouls. Denying him underneath the arc allowed Wembanyama to put the ball on the floor and showcase his dribbling, sweeping his feet in rhythmic fashion en route to the rim. And keeping either Donovan Clingan<\/a> or Robert Williams III<\/a> on him behind the arc only dared him to shoot over the top \u2014 which he did. (All five of his made 3s came against centers.) Portland\u2019s roughhousing inputs were simply downloaded into Wembanyama\u2019s megaprocessor, and like Grok or Claude, information was stored for later.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Wembanyama said when asked if he knew of the Blazers\u2019 physicality. \u201cIt\u2019s their identity, something to be expected, and it\u2019s also expected that they\u2019ll double up on that in the next games, but we\u2019re ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defensively, the story could have written itself. Portland shot just 42% from the field and 26% from 3, but it was more about the shots they didn\u2019t take. Wembanyam\u2019s two recorded blocks don\u2019t capture the full scope of decision-making by the Blazers. On one occasion, Grant\u2019s whole existence was erased in one sweeping motion at the rim. In another, Matisse Thybulle<\/a> drove along the baseline, saw Wembanyama\u2019s shadow and completely changed his mind. That\u2019s what Wembanyama\u2019s lifeblood is. Not the erasure of shot \u2014 the erasure of thought.<\/p>\n

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Game 1 also reinforced that San Antonio is also more than just Wembanyama. During the regular season, Wemby was third in touches per game and fourth in time of possession. He never needed, nor asked, to dominate the ball, usage or shots. This win is not possible without Stephon Castle<\/a> driving the boat, without Devin Vassell<\/a>\u2019s incredible third-quarter stretch, De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/a>\u2019s consistent pressure or even Luke Kornet<\/a>\u2019s solid deputy display. The Spurs are a family concept, with Wembanyama as their centripetal force that is ready for a deep run. Watch out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re locked in,\u201d Vassell said. \u201cWe can clean up some stuff and I think we\u2019ll be a whole better in Game 2 [on Tuesday]. \u2026 Everybody has each other\u2019s back. It makes it easier to communicate in the game. All of us are like brothers off the court, so it makes it easier to play on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2014 As Victor Wembanyama ducked under the awning and triumphantly emerged from the tunnel for his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":714435,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,3382,1314,980,2725,974,7779,5673,2038,4996,1537,7211,6,687,13399,969,47726,534,57187,930,4498,2594,1674,7140,693],"class_list":{"0":"post-714434","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-david-robinson","10":"tag-deaaron-fox","11":"tag-deni-avdija","12":"tag-devin-vassell","13":"tag-donovan-clingan","14":"tag-frost-bank-center","15":"tag-jerami-grant","16":"tag-jrue-holiday","17":"tag-luke-kornet","18":"tag-manu-ginobili","19":"tag-matisse-thybulle","20":"tag-nba","21":"tag-portland","22":"tag-robert-williams-iii","23":"tag-san-antonio","24":"tag-shawn-michaels","25":"tag-spurs","26":"tag-spurs-head-coach","27":"tag-stephon-castle","28":"tag-the-blazers","29":"tag-the-spurs","30":"tag-tim-duncan","31":"tag-toumani-camara","32":"tag-victor-wembanyama"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116435632457644747","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}