LAS VEGAS — Victor Wembanyama has accomplished a lot during his young NBA career — winning rookie of the year honors, making the all-star team and leading the league in blocks — but his first two seasons came and went without a single high-stakes game. The young San Antonio Spurs were too early in their rebuilding cycle to vie for a spot in the play-in tournament or the playoffs, and the 2023 No. 1 draft pick’s second season was cut short by a blood clot in his shoulder.
When the 7-foot-4 phenom carried France to the silver medal at the Paris Olympics, it felt like an extended-length movie trailer for what might be possible once the Spurs grew up. And when he poured in 42 points to enthrall the Madison Square Garden crowd during a loss to the New York Knicks last Christmas, Wembanyama again hinted at a long-presumed NBA takeover that has unfolded in fits and starts.
Saturday night finally brought a real test: Wembanyama, 21, returned to the court after missing 12 games with a calf strain for an NBA Cup semifinal matchup with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder at T-Mobile Arena. The NBA cleared the rest of its calendar to highlight this showdown between the Spurs, who have vaulted up the standings despite injury issues, and the Thunder, which entered at 24-1 while riding a 16-game winning streak and on track for the best record in NBA history.
Wembanyama led the Spurs to a stunning 111-109 upset by posting 22 points, nine rebounds and two blocks and acing the most significant test of his NBA career to date. His game-changing impact was obvious: The Spurs (18-7) outscored the Thunder by 21 points in his 21 minutes, and they were outscored by 19 points in the 27 minutes he was on the bench. San Antonio advanced to face New York in Tuesday’s championship game; the Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic, 132-120, in Saturday’s other semifinal thanks to 40 points from Jalen Brunson.
“This is not a typical regular season game because we know that if we lose, we’re out,” Wembanyama said. “Some people are built for these moments, and some aren’t. But we definitely are, and it shows.”
In the run-up to the semifinals of the NBA Cup, the in-season tournament introduced in 2023, Wembanyama made it clear that he was in Las Vegas for the competitive test and to put the Thunder on notice, rather than for the $530,000 in prize money that goes to each member of the tournament champion.
“Poor Vic needs more money, right?” he quipped at Friday’s media day. “Just stacking money hasn’t really been a goal of mine.”
Wembanyama proceeded to tell ESPN that he thought Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — but not Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic — were in contention for the NBA’s “best player” label. Then he added, “When I come back on the court, I think it’ll be me.”
And in an interview with Prime Video, Wembanyama downplayed his individual matchup with Thunder center Chet Holmgren. “The MVP is on that court,” he said, referring to Gilgeous-Alexander. “He’s our main focus. Anybody is hard to guard when you have to help on the MVP.” Dirk Nowitzki, the Hall of Fame player turned broadcaster, later scolded Wembanyama for being “too swaggy [and] too dismissive of Chet” given Holmgren’s key role during the Thunder’s championship run.
But Wembanyama proceeded to back up his big talk after making a fashionably late entrance to the semifinal. The Spurs sought to limit Wembanyama to 20 minutes in his first game since Nov. 14, so he came off the bench for the first time in his career and remained sidelined for the entire first quarter.
To pass the time as Oklahoma City built a 31-20 lead, Wembanyama stayed warm with stretching exercises and a jostling match with teammate Bismack Biyombo. When it was his turn to take the court to open the second quarter, Wembanyama sat for a quiet moment with his head bowed, his eyes closed and his hands clasped before leaping to his feet and ripping off his warmup pants.
“My thoughts before the game were that this is the kind of game you have to make things happen, no matter the conditions,” Wembanyama said. “[Coming off the bench with a minutes limit] is just a slight detail. I can do all right with three quarters. … Looking back, I think it was a good formula. It was a good system to do it like this. I just tried to make the most out of it.”
Wembanyama got straight to work with a tip-in basket on his first offensive possession, followed by an offensive rebound and an assist to set up a Dylan Harper three-pointer on his second. Within minutes, he had grabbed his first steal and committed his first of five turnovers while playing with a bit too much haste.
After connecting on two lobs at the rim in the first quarter, the Thunder suddenly found it inadvisable to enter the paint. Oklahoma City, owner of the NBA’s best defense, generally wanted no part of the NBA’s best individual defender. During a rare moment of head-on ambition, Holmgren lofted a turnaround jumper over Wembanyama that wound up smothered as soon as it left his fingertips.
The Spurs were within three after Wembanyama hit a deep three-pointer shortly before halftime. When he reentered the game midway through the fourth quarter, the Thunder’s lead was just one point. The final minutes were a sight to behold as Wembanyama finished a lob dunk, drilled a tough jumper over Alex Caruso and made four free throws to help ice the win.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 29 points, but Oklahoma City was eliminated from the NBA Cup in the semifinals one year after falling to the Bucks in the tournament’s championship game. Holmgren and Jalen Williams added 17 points apiece for the Thunder.
“[Wembanyama was] huge, obviously,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “He’s got great two-way impact. He’s obviously a rim deterrent. He’s a problem on the glass, and he was early. Then he caught his rhythm offensively and made some really tough shots down the stretch.”
Along the way, Wembanyama savored every sequence. After being fouled by Cason Wallace on a drive, Wembanyama grinned while flexing in a display of strength. After absorbing two swipes from Caruso and hitting a clutch fadeaway jumper, Wembanyama pointed his finger at the Thunder guard. After Holmgren missed a crucial free throw with eight seconds left, Wembanyama roared his approval. And after the final buzzer, he triumphantly raised both hands over his head.
“It was the worst-case scenario fcoach Mitch Johnson said. “It was going to be a little bit of a wild card. I thought he played unapologetically. I thought he played relentless. I thought he played too fast at times, and it was all for the right reasons and with the right intentions. I wouldn’t change any of it.”
This was the type of comprehensive dominance that many expected when Wembanyama entered the NBA as the most hyped prospect since LeBron James. On Saturday, he displayed the inherent advantages that come with his unprecedented combination of height and skill but also the same competitive spirit that left him in tears when France lost to the United States in the gold medal game in Paris.
Gilgeous-Alexander acknowledged Saturday that it’s “definitely a possibility” that the Thunder and Spurs are headed for a long-term rivalry given their deep pools of young talent. Though Oklahoma City is a few years ahead of San Antonio’s pace, Wembanyama and teammates De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Harper appear poised to make up ground quickly. Fast forward a few years, and it’s possible that this win will be remembered as the Spurs’ coming-out party.
Before Saturday’s festivities were complete, Wembanyama delivered one last flourish. As the Thunder has stockpiled blowout wins in recent years, opposing fan bases have accused Gilgeous-Alexander of foul-baiting tactics and Oklahoma City’s physical defense of getting away with illegal contact. As Wembanyama gushed about the Spurs’ 9-3 record during his injury absence, he tacked on an aside that could be read as a subtle dig at the Thunder’s polarizing reputation.
“I’m just glad,” he said, “to be part of something that’s growing to be so beautiful — pure and ethical basketball.”