'That's Really It!' San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama Proves He's More Than 'Just Tall'
As Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks faced an illuminated H-E-B advertisement board along the sideline of Frost Bank Center, he might have re-considered speaking on San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama just days prior to facing him.
What the veteran said was cut and dry, yet provocative enough to grace social media as the Rockets and Spurs prepared for their first of four bouts of the season. And the phrase in question?
“He's tall, that's really it.”
Brooks regained his bearings, and suddenly, it was clear that his statement was spoken-too-soon, motivating and false. Because as he faced the H-E-B logo, Wembanyama was already six feet behind him, feet set for the Spurs' first shot of overtime. And he made it.
Brooks attempted a jump to disrupt the 7-4 — which, to Brooks' point, is tall — rookie's shot, but to no avail, leaving Wembanyama with another two points and an arm pointed at him in a slightly petty celebration. But petty or not, he'd proven himself.
Wembanyama was not just tall.
Oct 27, 2023; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts after dunking during the second half against the Houston Rockets at Frost Bank Center.
© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
San Antonio went on to take down the Rockets at home, earning its first win of the season — and Wembanyama's first of his career — to give its fans a taste of victory.
Wembanyama's shot over Brooks played a role in getting the overtime momentum going, but it was really the rookie's entire fourth quarter and beyond that made the difference for the Spurs, and his teammates would emphatically agree.
"Nothing really slows him down," Spurs shooting guard Devin Vassell said of Wembanyama. "Nothing really bothers him, and that's the type of player that we need here. It's contagious. It wasn't going well for us the whole game, but we all stuck together and we were able to pull it out.”
As a whole, the Spurs either outperformed or matched the Rockets in every stat category, and while normally that'd be a good thing, Houston's significant injury report meant that San Antonio should have been further ahead than "eking" out a win in overtime.
But despite the non-dominant victory, Wembanyama focused on the positives.
"It just proves we've got it in us," he said. "Those tough moments ... I’m, proud of what we did tonight. Now, we can really see where we can get better, because we haven’t been really pretty for three quarters.
"A win is a win, but it shows that we've got a lot of room to grow as a team.”
Gregg Popovich shared the same sentiment.
“I felt our energy and our competitiveness pick up in the last half of the fourth quarter and during overtime," the veteran coach said. "They played with confidence and with some grit.”
“[Wembanyama] is a competitor," he added. "Of course, he's going to be decisive and do what he thinks he can do to win. But they're all like that. So are the Houston Rockets. That's what these guys do. They're competitive or they wouldn't be [here]."
As the Spurs continue their regular-season trek, they're going to be navigating not only Wembanyama's development, but also the constant attention that comes with it.
That means extensive interviews, incessant discussion about his potential and future, but also fans in all arenas, waiting to either witness history or what they hope will be "failure."
But as Wembanyama has mentioned before, he isn't worried about that. He's simply wanting to learn from each game and improve alongside his teammates.
"I think what we lacked for the first three quarters [was] energy," the rookie said. "At some point, they were making shots. They were being successful in every play [and] our energy wasn’t as persistent. ... It’s just a matter of how well we’ll adjust in the next game.”
So, Wembanyama will adjust. Popovich will adjust to coaching him, but his teammates will also adjust to playing with him. That's just part of playing with a generational rookie — something that the Spurs are all-too familiar with at this point.
And as much as they've been around him, they know better than anyone that he's more than just height down low. He's a scorer, an impactor and most important, a leader.
"We all feel his presence on the floor," Spurs point guard Tre Jones said. "You could really feel it. Defensively, he's all over the place. Offensively, it speaks for itself. We can all see it — how he's settling in. We're also trying to learn how to play with one another.
"We're still trying to figure this thing out."
