SAN ANTONIO — The day that many fans of the Silver and Black anticipate every year has arrived. Coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs hosted their Media Day on Monday.
Coach Pop talked about expectations for his team in the coming basketball season. Last year, the Spurs ended the season with a record of 22-60, and finished 14 in the NBA Western Conference.
Last year, Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama lived up to the hype by being named the Rookie of the Year in a unanimous vote as well as Defensive Player of the Year runner up. Wemby, who is 7'4" tall, averaged 21.4 points per game, 10.6 rebounds per game and 3.9 assists per game in his freshman year with the team.
Wembanyama spend much of his summer improving his skills even more while playing for Team France at the Paris Olympics. Coach Pop praised his poise on the international stage during the news conference Monday.
"Victor was great. He improved steadily throughout the Olympics and was very formidable," Coach Pop said.
Pop was asked what his expectations are for Wembanyama this year.
"I want everyone to get better. I have great expectations for every player, both individually and teamwise. We want them to improve in every area," Coach Pop said.
See more from Coach Pop's interview below:
Wemanyama himself spoke at the podium and said he was focusing on fundamentals this upcoming season.
"The more I grow into my career, the more I realize it's important to work on the fundamentals. There's a big emphasis that's been put on my game this summer, which is taking advantage of really simple situations," Wembanyama said.
He also said he expects to see more winning this season.
"Last year, our expectations for ourselves was to, you know, to learn and to learn to know ourselves. And I think towards the end of the year, it really showed. But this year, we expect from us to win," Wembanyama said.
See more of Victor Wembanyama's intervew below:
NBA standout Chris Paul, aka "CP3" and "The Point God" joins the team in the coming year. Paul played for Golden State, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Houston, Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans before becoming a free agent on June 30. Paul signed a one-year, $11 million deal with the Spurs on July 7.
At Spurs Media Day, Coach Pop talked about how Paul's experience will benefit the whole team.
"More than anything, he is going to be a great mentor for our young guys," Coach Pop said. "You think about the people who came in when Timmy and Manu and Tony were here, they had good examples to look up to who had been in the league for a while. That's important to player's development. The players now have not really had that. Even Victor, obviously, he is super talented and that sort of thing, but he needs that also."
Paul also spoke to reporters, saying he is already bonding with the team.
"I've known a lot of these guys for a long time. We had a team group chat started a month ago or whatnot. Aside from hoopin' and playing basketball, you spend a lot time with each other. It's a great group to be around and I can honestly say that and I mean it," Paul said.
See more of Chris Paul's interview below:
After the Spurs met with the media Monday, they are expected to hit the practice court to start their training camp Tuesday.
The first Spurs preseason game will be one week from now on Monday, October 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Frost Bank Center.
The Spurs regular season starts on October 24 against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. The team's first home game of the regular season takes place on October 26 when the Houston Rockets come to town.
