LAS VEGAS — Victor Wembanyama made his debut for the San Antonio Spurs in what may be the most anticipated Las Vegas Summer League game ever.
It will certainly be the most heavily attended. Tickets sold out for day one of the NBA's premiere showcase for up and coming players, and UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center will be full of fans, reporters and scouts hoping to see something special from the 19-year-old Frenchman who is widely regarded as the best NBA prospect since LeBron James.
Wemby started with three misses, first on a driving layup attempt, then a jumper, then a dunk attempt after a good post up. It wasn't long before his first impact play, though.
The 7'3" star blocked a shot inside before grabbing the board and dribbling all the way down the floor before breaking it down and shoveling a dime with his left hand.
A few plays later Wemby got his first bucket on his toughest shot of the night. He caught a long pass deep in the paint between two defenders, turned around, and popped it in with his left hand through a foul.
After a short rest, he took a dribble handoff and crossed over a few times before driving in and throwing a sick pass that ended in a missed layup.
He posted up second-overall pick Brandon Miller, and lost it as he drew multiple defenders. He had 3 points, 3 rebounds, an assist and a block in his first six minutes.
Blake Wesley and Malaki Branham hit back-to-back threes. Wemby got ripped, then stuffed 6'9" Brandon Miller on a three before making another great pass.
Wembanyama missed three triples, then cut hard and drew a foul before hitting free throws. He slid over to stuff a layup attempt before the buzzer sounded.
Wemby only shot 1-7 from the floor, but he put up 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks and an assist in his first half with the Spurs. San Antonio led 38-26 at the break, with Champagnie and Branham combining for 21 points and 10 boards.
The second half started with three boards for Wemby, plus a handoff to Champagnie for a dime.
Wesley set Branham up for three, then drove through the heart of the paint in transition and scooped in a layup through a foul.
Kai Jones became the first to dunk on Wembanyama, a brave rim protector who is surely the guy everyone wants to get a poster with. Miller hit him with a crossover and then appeared to hit him in the neck area, with the foul called on Victor.
Wemby got his fourth assist, then missed a three, then fouled on a layup. Champagnie drove the lane hard and punched down a big dunk.
Wembanyama missed another shot off of a post spin, but blocked his fifth shot before heading to the bench.
He checked back in with 4:10 to play and missed another triple. Then he finally knocked down a three through a foul.
Wemby's last shot was a nice drive, but again he smoked the layup to finish a paltry 2-13 from the floor and 1-6 from three. The rookie finished his Spurs debut with 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 blocks, and 3 turnovers in 27 minutes.
The shooting was disappointing, but his defense and playmaking stood out. San Antonio won 76-68 behind 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists from Julian Champagnie.
After the game, Wembanyama said he was happy about the win but needs to adjust to a new style of play and do a better job of reacting to play calls and understanding where he needs to be on the court.
"Special moment, really special to wear that jersey for the first time, it's really an honor. Overall I'm glad we won this game," Wembanyama said after the game. "Honestly I didn't really know what I was doing on the court tonight, but I'm trying to learn for the next games, and the important thing is to be ready for the season."
He'll have a chance to get better on Sunday night against the Portland Trail Blazers and Scoot Henderson.
Matt Nielsen, who is acting as head coach for the Spurs this Summer League, said he has an elite basketball IQ. He was impressed by how Wemby performed in a physical game with new teammates and a new offense, and also with how he's handled all of the attention.
It's been nearly two months since the Spurs won the most important draft lottery of the past 20 years, giving them the right to select the 7'3" phenom first overall.
Celebrations erupted across San Antonio, and since then, fans in the Alamo City have been eagerly awaiting the moment that he takes the floor in Silver and Black for the first time.
Wembanyama didn't play in the team's first two summer league games this week, held in Sacramento. San Antonio won both of those games by double digits, looking crisp and locked in with some impressive individual performances.
Malaki Branham put up 32 points in the second game, shooting 12-24 from the floor and 3-6 from three. Blake Wesley, another first-round pick last season, added 18 points on an efficient 7-9 to go with 7 rebounds and 5 assists as he gets reps as a primary playmaker.
Julian Champagnie, who just signed a 4-year contract worth $12 million, scorched the nets from deep and showed a versatile all-around game. He started with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals in the first game and then had 28 points, 5 boards and 2 blocks in the next.
Dom Barlow has looked springy, switchable and surprisingly smooth from the mid-range. Rookie second-round pick Sidy Cissoko, another Frenchman, is showing his defensive versatility and playmaking upside.
This young group is already clicking and playing well, and they were excited to add Wembanyama to the mix.
The more experienced Spurs aren't playing this week, but Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Zach Collins, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Charles Bassey and Doug McDermott came out to Vegas to practice with the youngsters. Gregg Popovich also is with the team this week.
Wembanyama was in the headlines before the games started after an incident between Spurs security and pop star Britney Spears at a Las Vegas restaurant on Wednesday night.
Police reviewed footage and spoke to Spears' security team, and they determined that when Spears approached the rookie from behind and tried to tap him on the shoulder, the security guard pushed her hand back, causing her to hit herself in the face. They decided not to charge the security team member.
Wembanyama said Thursday that he was told to keep moving and didn't realize it was Spears until later. The full police report was released Friday and can be found here.