{"id":741448,"date":"2026-05-22T23:27:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T23:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/741448\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T23:27:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T23:27:29","slug":"victor-wembanyama-goes-viral-in-photo-with-spurs-legend-ahead-of-game-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/741448\/","title":{"rendered":"Victor Wembanyama Goes Viral in Photo With Spurs Legend Ahead of Game 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Victor Wembanyama<\/a> posted an NBA Playoffs<\/a> performance matched by only five others, with his brilliant 41-point, 24-rebound outing to help the San Antonio Spurs<\/a> win in double overtime.<\/p>\n

He joined a short list of elite talent to score 40-plus points and 20-plus points in a conference finals game, including Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Charles Barkley, and Moses Malone. Wemby also recorded three blocks in the outing, with the Spurs taking the 1-0 series lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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However, Game 2 in Oklahoma City<\/a> was a different story with the Thunder playing their physical brand of tough defense, disrupting Wemby and his teammates. That led to a 122-113 victory for the home team, tying the series 1-1.<\/p>\n

As it shifts back to San Antonio<\/a> for a third game, the focus again falls on Wembanyama as the league\u2019s quickly emerging superstar, and a new photo that hit the internet on Friday captured plenty of attention.<\/p>\n

More news: Jay Williams Sounds Off on Thunder for \u2018Foul Baiting\u2019 Amid NBA Playoff Run<\/a><\/p>\n

\"VictorVictor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs looks on during the first quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a> in Game Four of the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Target Center on May 10, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It features the Spurs player seated next to former head coach Gregg Popovich<\/a> during the team\u2019s practice session. Nobody knows what the conversation is about, but it\u2019s likely highly valuable and sensitive basketball knowledge.<\/p>\n

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Fans are already predicting another out-of-this-world performance by the league\u2019s young alien-like superstar.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Pop and Wemby are locked in like this, Game 3 isn\u2019t coaching\u2026..it\u2019s survival chess at the highest level,\u201d someone wrote in the X comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cPop coaching Wemby is a transfer of institutional memory. No other team in the conference finals has that conversation available to them,\u201d another commenter wrote, reacting to the viral photo.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast time they talked Wemby went crazy\u2026,\u201d and \u201cWemby quadruple double incoming,\u201d commenters wrote.<\/p>\n

Others joked with pop culture references such as, \u201cYODA has returned to train his Jedi knight,\u201d and \u201cWhy\u2019s this remind me of TMNT with Master Splinter.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the second time coach Popovich has appeared on social media in a post with Wembanyama that has caught attention.<\/p>\n

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Previously, his meeting with Wemby at the San Antonio airport drew attention, as it came after the Spurs star was ejected for the first time in his career during a playoff game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.<\/p>\n

During postgame remarks in that series, Wemby wouldn\u2019t reveal what was said, but it\u2019s clear he respects and listens to the messages the legendary coach delivers.<\/p>\n

Popovich\u2019s resume makes him one of the game\u2019s greatest coaches of all time, with five championships during his tenure as San Antonio\u2019s guiding force.<\/p>\n

The head coaching duties now fall upon Mitch Johnson, but that doesn\u2019t mean Pop isn\u2019t nearby to mentor these young players as they get their first taste of success in the NBA<\/a> Playoffs.<\/p>\n

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Game 3 occurs on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET with another potential Wembanyama masterpiece incoming.<\/p>\n

More news: Dillon Brooks Takes Shot at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander With \u2018Unethical Hoops\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

For more about the San Antonio Spurs, visit Newsweek Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Start your unlimited Newsweek trial<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Victor Wembanyama posted an NBA Playoffs performance matched by only…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":741449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,2001,1195,23447,3349,152,6,11,475,179,969,474,209,2594,693,3460,5437],"class_list":["post-741448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba-playoffs","tag-basketball","tag-charles-barkley","tag-dillon-brooks","tag-elgin-baylor","tag-gregg-popovich","tag-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-nba","tag-nba-playoffs","tag-oklahoma-city","tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-spurs","tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","tag-the-spurs","tag-victor-wembanyama","tag-western-conference-finals","tag-wilt-chamberlain"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116620823626337603","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741448","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=741448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/741449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=741448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=741448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=741448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}