In contrast to his disappointing debut, Victor Wembanyama came back strongly in the second NBA Summer League. The 2m26 tall striker played more confidently and comfortably this time, showing that the difficulties he encountered in the previous match mainly came from psychological problems.
From the match scoring 9 points with only 2 successful shots (2-13 FG), Wemby today scored 27 points with 9-14 FG (2-4 3PT), completing a double-double and 12 rebounds. and there are 3 more blocks.
One similarity with the forgettable debut two days ago is that Victor Wembanyama once again entered the game slowly, but this is also the general situation of players on both sides.
By the second half, the French rookie gradually became more comfortable mentally, got into better rhythm with the game and showed his skills in both attack and defense.
Below is a typical example with a block near the basket then escaping in a quick counterattack, ending with a beautiful dunk.
Victor Wembanyama’s impressive transition
Unfortunately, the explosive playing days of rookie San Antonio Spurs were not complete. He and his teammates lost to the Portland Trail Blazers with a score of 80-85.
Winning or losing in the NBA Summer League is often not taken seriously, but this is not Wembanyama’s thinking. He seemed quite regretful when he lost a match in which he personally played well.
“ If only we could have won ,” Victor Wembanyama shared with ESPN. “I think I can do better to help my team win the match. In the first three rounds, the whole team did not play well. It was not until the fourth quarter that we were able to overwhelm the opponent.
Personally, I don’t think much about comparing this match to that match. Two days ago was my first experience playing in the NBA. It’s very normal for the next match to be better than the previous match.”
San Antonio Spurs have 3 NBA Summer League matches left in Las Vegas and fans look forward to continuing to admire Wemby’s talent.
However, the 19-year-old player may be “retained” by the coaching staff and only play 1-2 matches. The reason is that Victor Wembanyama’s physical condition is still not good enough.
“Over the past month I have had many sideline activities and have not been able to practice or compete. This causes my physical strength to be greatly affected during this period,” the Spurs rookie shared.
“I’m really looking forward to Summer League being over so I can start training with the team. From then on, every day I will be able to eat, sleep and practice, a schedule that I like a lot more than what I did in the past month.”
At the end of June, Victor Wembanyama was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
The team’s leadership hopes that Wembanyama will be able to become a star, playing the role of the team’s pillar in the future like what Tim Duncan once did. However, Wemby’s NBA journey did not start smoothly.
Before playing a forgettable Summer League game with only 2-13 FGs 2 days ago, he got into trouble with pop star Britney Spears at a large hotel lobby in Las Vegas.
