Victor Wembanyama’s rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs is over.
The Spurs said the 7-foot-1 French phenom will not play in Sunday’s season finale against the Detroit Pistons, ending a year that will almost certainly see him take home the Rookie of the Year award.
His final numbers: 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.6 blocks per game, best in the NBA. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich suggested after Friday’s win over Denver that Wembanyama could be postponed for the final, and the team confirmed that decision on Saturday. The official reason cited was treatment of the injury to his right ankle.
“What’s really interesting is when you watch him from the beginning of the year to now, you see how much he’s improved,” Denver coach Michael Malone said of Wembanyama earlier this month. “I mean, it’s noticeable. He came in as a really talented player, but when you look at him now… Pop did a great job building him up in one season.”
Wembanyama — the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft — has appeared in 71 games with the Spurs, who enter the Finals with a 21-60 record and tied on the final day of the season with Portland for the worst record in the Western Conference.
He had 34 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and five 3-pointers in what was his final game as a rookie, a 121-120 victory over defending NBA champion Denver on Friday night. Spurs came from 23 points down to win the game – their biggest comeback victory of the season, and Wembanyama gave the ball a celebratory spike as time expired.
“As a growing team, a young team, it’s big for us,” Wembanyama said after the game. “We’re going to need those kinds of wins in the future. We will need any victory. But big wins against big teams, top teams, we’re going to need them in the future.”
He became just the fourth player, and first rookie, to finish a season with at least 1,500 points, 250 assists and 250 blocks. The others: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it five times, Hakeem Olajuwon did it twice and former Spurs great David Robinson did it twice. No one has done that since 1993-94, when Olajuwon and Robinson had a season like that.
Wembanyama won’t play again for Spurs until next season, but fans will likely see him play long before then. He is expected to be part of the French squad for the Paris Olympics this summer.
And he has said many times that he feels the Spurs are on the right path to becoming contenders again.
“We have the potential to be great,” Wembanyama said. “The fact that we get to experience this, with the fans, I can only hope it’s as incredible as possible.”
