Man this kind of audio access would generate wild subscription numbers if the NBA was down.
Also, this is the stuff Popovich was talking about. They’re teaching these kids how to play big-boy basketball.
One of the coolest elements of this season has been seeing the respect Wemby’s gotten right off the bat from some of the greatest to ever play this game. Jokic’s quotes have reflected that. And a big reason that’s the case is because Victor truly reveres them.
One of the most entertaining things about Wembanyama is his ability to talk shit without talking shit, and just being completely matter-of-fact about it.
"I feel like I'm immune to the ... distractions like partying, alcohol, drugs. Like, why would I ever do that? I don't have nothing to compensate for."
Via The Ringer:
“We know that, in the situations, OK, we’d like to get the ball up to the basket in a tie game prior to the buzzer sounding. What we have here is a young man grabbing an offensive rebound and running very quickly in the incorrect direction. This is not ideal.”
This is a 20-year-old on a Two-Way contract, and another 20-year-old who tore his MCL last year and has been working his way back. This is also a 74-year-old coach who loves this shit.
Man this kind of audio access would generate wild subscription numbers if the NBA was down.
Also, this is the stuff Popovich was talking about. They’re teaching these kids how to play big-boy basketball.
Asked Bassey how he's been able to integrate so quickly with the team:
“Just playing for Pop. That’s the kind of coaching you want to play for. He’s just so calm. Whether you’re losing or winning, he’s just calm. He has the right words — he’s says the right things to a player.”
How did the Bulls trade Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan and not get a single first-round pick in return? Not even a heavily protected one.
Meanwhile the Spurs got an established vet and an unprotected future first-round swap essentially just for having cap space.
It can be tough to explain the many reasons San Antonio is such an enjoyable place to live, but often it just comes down to how well one can describe community. Because this city is just one giant neighborhood. You never know who might pull up.
Youngest team in the NBA. Got 38 and 10 from your rookie. Your 20-year-old forward playing point guard locked up one of the league’s best scorers down the stretch. Your young vets stayed composed and capitalized on most opportunities. And did it all with their best scorer out.
Asked Jeremy about the slow but steady defensive improvements over the course of the season. A good all-around answer, but one line is carrying a lot of weight here:
“It’s fuckin’ Vic.”
Asked Pop about Sochan's growth as an offensive initiator/ball-handler this season:
"He’s wild. He’s doing whatever he wants. I just love watching him. It’s kinda like watching Manu when we first got him — I have no idea what he’s gonna do."
The worst 3-point shooting team in the league *prior to* the All-Star break: San Antonio Spurs (33.9 percent).
The best 3-point shooting team in the league *since* the All-Star break: San Antonio Spurs (42.9 percent).
Just had to get rid of Doug McDermott I guess.
The fact the Spurs won the Wembanyama lottery just before moving into the premier practice facility in the NBA that will double as a human-performance center and research facility is absolutely a script someone wrote.
The heat index is currently 110 degrees but people couldn’t care less. Jeremy Sochan getting a warm reception ahead of the main act to come.
🎥 via
@MattRoy_TV
Prior to the end of the szn Pop said this:
"We deserve no more luck ever in the history of NBA basketball. We drafted Tim Duncan. Before that it was David.
“Quit your crying. Poor us. We have to start over again. It's baloney. I'm just grateful for the good fortune I've had.”
An eastern conference team might win the title this year but the difference in depth of talent between the two conferences is wild. I feel like it’s been this way my entire life except for 1 or 2 years. Just seed the playoffs 1-16 already.
I think we often attribute Wemby’s ridiculousness simply to his length, but the timing, coordination and quick-twitch on this play is insane. He swipes at the ball AS YOUNG IS GOING UP, then blocks it with the same hand he used to try and knock it away.
26 and 11 on 14 shots in 20 minutes. Wembanyama is just starting to figure things out and this is what it looks like.
When asked by
@seanelliott_32
whether he understands how demoralizing it is when he dunks on opponents:
“Traumatizing, sometimes, is the goal.”
“I had as many blocks as he did tonight, so he’s gotta get back in the lab and maybe watch some film.” - Doug McDermott on Victor Wembanyama’s triple-double.
So, Spurs fans, you’ve all just become big Raptors fans as well. If they make the playoffs this year or next, San Antonio gets Toronto’s first-round pick for that season.
Wembanyama is the best defensive rookie since Tim Duncan. Y’all can ignore that other guy tweeting things. The metrics are all there. The eye test is definitely all there. Just an absolute alien of a player totally changing the geometry of the court on that side of the ball.
For those who wanted to see the "Wembanyama checks himself in" drama unfold in real time: He gets up to head to the scorers table, Pop sees him, doesn't care, Mitch Johnson comes over to "remind" him of the restriction, Wemby comes out at the next dead ball.
Reflecting on those first games against Scoot last year, asked Victor what his initial impression of Las Vegas was.
Vic: "It's the closest thing on Earth to a dystopia."
And I'm dead.
I think we often attribute Wemby’s ridiculousness simply to his length, but the timing, coordination and quick-twitch on this play is insane. He swipes at the ball AS YOUNG IS GOING UP, then blocks it with the same hand he used to try and knock it away.
The Spurs will be using one first-round pick to select Victor Wembanyama. They still have 12 more after that over the next five years, with about a million more second-round picks to boot.
Tim Duncan was just recognized after 1st quarter as part of the Spurs’ ongoing 50th anniversary party. He came out of the tunnel, stood at mid-court and waved to everyone for a bit, then walked right back down the tunnel. It is unclear when he‘ll next appear in a public place,
The Wembanyama-Mamukelashvili pairing has now racked up 127 minutes of court time together, and the Spurs have outscored opponents by 10 points per 100 possessions during those minutes. They play off one another so well.
So I’m really excited to officially announce I’m going to be covering the Spurs for
@TheAthleticNBA
starting today. I can’t wait to get rolling on this!
Wemby spoke about the dinner he had last night with guys like Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Gregg Popovich… his agent, Bouna Ndiaye, couldn’t have been happier or more relieved about his client’s current situation.
“Best dinner of his life.”
I know a bunch of Spurs fans will disagree with me, but man that team is poised to make late run after late run for the next however many years Wemby stays healthy and before he gets old.
Zero bad contracts, longterm pliability, never-ending stream of picks. Get ready for it.
Spurs just announced the following players will not suit up for tomorrow’s game against OKC:
Victor Wembanyama
Chris Paul
Zach Collins
Charles Bassey
David Duke Jr.
Devin Vassell
Devonte Graham popped into the room as Blake Wesley was at the podium and stared at Blake.
“Did you tell ‘em?” he asked.
“Oh,” Blake remembered. “My headband was too high. During timeout Devonte’ told me to pull it down, then I got that layup.”
“I was the reason,” Graham said.
Thing about San Antonio… players mostly love it, but only once they’re actually here. It isn’t flashy. It’s bizarrely laid back for a city with ~2 million ppl in the area. There’s plenty to do but you kinda have to know the spots or know someone who does. More than anything…
Sochan is being tasked with guarding the Suns’ two best players on consecutive possessions while also having to run the show.
Pop said last year he was throwing him in the fire immediately. THIS is the actual fire.
You could tell around draft stuff and during summer league camp… vibes have been immaculate with this group. Wembanyama’s Friday debut is gonna be wild. Even if he only plays like 10 minutes.
Gregg Popovich: “What’s most notable isn’t even basketball. It’s the ineptness, the lack of understanding for country, for having any notion of conducting one’s self for the good of that country... Everybody knows what I’m talking about. It’s disgusting, it’s transparent...
I’m not sure how some people watched DeRozan last season and felt he was just a ball-stopping black hole. He was the Spurs’ best playmaker by a long shot and arguably had the best all-around season of his career.
Pop on the state of rest of the supporting cast, the non-Wemby Spurs:
“The guys who played for us last year, and who are continuing, have had a great summer. And I mean that with all my heart — they’ve had a great summer.”
Pop on people taking COVID seriously: "I'm disappointed in the fiber of our populous ... We're still more of an instant-gratification country. We think about ourselves more than the group, than the community. It's just beyond my comprehension...
Ernie Johnson: “Man what have we just seen? What a finish. How did it look from where you were?”
Victor Wembanyama: “Wow. I mean, Keldon’s just a bully. Big time still.”
Victor Wembanyama asked by
@mikefinger
about whether he’s heard the narrative that his teammates don’t want to pass him the ball:
“Of course I’ve heard of it, but it’s never been close to the reality.”
Minnesota looks entirely disinterested in playing basketball. Spurs just waived a first-round pick, had five players out with injury/illness and played with a nine-man rotation for most of the game.
Doug McDermott said he was sprinting around his parents’ living room screaming when the Spurs won the lottery. So basically just like everyone at Roo Pub.
The foot/ankle injuries forced Portland to cut bait. San Antonio signed him to a deal jam-packed with non-guarantees. But now, a year after making his return from a 540-day hiatus, a healthy Zach Collins is playing the best basketball of his young career.