How did Victor Wembanyama react to a bad match? With a historic one for Spurs

SALT LAKE CITY — The mark of a great player is how he responds to a bad play. And on Wednesday night, in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Victor Wembanyama had the kind of game he would just as soon forget. It was more than the six points he scored in his career. There just wasn’t enough impact on the game for someone of his immense talent.

However, there was no panic. Of course there was a film session to look at what he could have done better. Discussions have been held with coaches. But Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in particular knew that the fast-paced nature of the NBA would be good for them in this case.

“Playing the next night was good for us,” Wembanyama said. “That was our luck. The thing about this league is that you have so many opportunities to get better during the season. There are so many opportunities to fix what needs to be fixed. It was best for us that we had a back-to-back because it was the quickest way to get back to winning ways.

Victor Wembanyama has dropped many hints about the superstardom to come. He averaged 21 points and nearly 11 rebounds per game in his rookie season. He was deservedly one of the best defenders in the league. He has made a living by appearing on late night highlights. But nothing tells the story of his all-around brilliance more than what he accomplished Thursday night in a 106-88 win over the Utah Jazz.

There have been 23 5x5s in NBA history, a stat line of at least five points, five rebounds, five blocked shots, five assists and five steals. Of those 23, only two had done it more than once as of Thursday evening. Those two are Hakeem Olajuwon and Andrei Kirilenko, who jazz fans know well. Wembanyama walked into the Delta Center on Thursday night to celebrate Halloween, disguised as No-Face from the 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film “Spirited Away.” He left Delta Center as one of three players in NBA history with multiple 5x5s .

The Wembanyama Halloween tradition continues! 🎃

(via @nba)pic.twitter.com/wkOlrs9Rjm

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 31, 2024

And he has accomplished this feat in 76 career games.

“It tells me I need to raise my standards,” Wembanyama said. “It tells me that I can help my team in all these areas and that this should be consistent. As I’ve said before, I thought this was a game we had to have. I was therefore happy that I could help my team in all areas.”

For the night, Wembanyama scored 25 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out seven assists. He recorded five steals and blocked five shots. The Spurs outscored the Jazz by a whopping 43 points when he was on the floor.

things we like to see >>> https://t.co/iP49gRDWOq pic.twitter.com/X1ghh1PL9S

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 1, 2024

This was clearly one of the best individual games of the young NBA season. But there is always a bigger picture to look at. Wembanyama knew he wasn’t playing well on Wednesday night. He shot 1 of 5 from the floor, which showed how little aggression he played. He had no impact on the game at either end of the pitch, and Spurs don’t have much chance of winning games if he plays like that.

But Wembanyama is nothing if not more mature than his years. And he embraces the expectation that comes with being a star. One of the things Spurs did this off-season was bringing in Chris Paul to help with Wembanyama’s development. It’s one of the reasons why San Antonio ran a steady diet of pick-and-roll between the two on Thursday night. The goal was to get Wembanyama involved in the attack early and often.

“That was the great thing,” said Paul. “We didn’t have to say too much. That’s the fun of this competition. There are so many opportunities and so many chances to get better. That guy has been a pro for a long time. He is young, but has a lot of experience. We knew he would come back.”

As he rebounded, Wembanyama answered some questions about himself. How would he react to a bad match? How would he get out the next night? Is there a difficulty that coincides with having a short memory?

Wembanyama nailed a three-pointer on the very first possession of the game. It missed. On San Antonio’s second possession of the game, he nailed a three-pointer. It missed. On the fourth possession he nailed a 3. It splashed through, all net.

It wasn’t the pictures he took. It was the aggression. There was no way Wembanyama wouldn’t be looking for his foul on Thursday night. And as the game went on and he found a rhythm, there was no way he could allow Spurs to lose this one. In that sense, Wembanyama has that quality that all greats have. He can endear himself to you with his smile. As his Halloween costume can attest, he’s bursting with charisma. But he has a fierce competitive instinct, and that instinct wouldn’t allow him to have consecutive bad nights.

“I’m absolutely fine with him shooting a lot from the perimeter,” San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s more of a perimeter player than a post player. We want him to do everything. We want him to isolate. We want him to shoot. We want him to do the whole deal. We just can’t do it all at once. It depends of the situation and what is going on.”

For the night, Wembanyama had a career-high 13 3-point looks. He made four. But he got on the track and ended up on the edge. He’s got stuff in the mid-post area. He executed the pick-and-roll with Paul to perfection, especially down the stretch. And because he was so involved offensively, he was also involved everywhere on the floor.

It delivered one of those performances that you won’t soon forget, especially if you saw it live. There wasn’t a single part of the floor that Wembanyama didn’t have influence on Thursday night. And it’s one of the reasons he was considered a generational candidate for so long.

“We knew we needed this game,” Wembanyama said. “It was less individual than we wanted our offense to progress. Basketball is a game that we are allowed to play and have fun with. But what that involves is being aggressive and making sure you don’t hesitate when you’re on the ground.”

(Photo: Rob Gray/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)