Inside The Spurs

Spurs Starter, May 8, 2024: Victor Wembanyama Goes 1 for 2 on End-of-Season Awards

Your daily briefing on what's going on with the San Antonio Spurs, including news, draft & more.

Matt Guzman

Apr 5, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) looks on at the court from the sideline,
Apr 5, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) looks on at the court from the sideline, / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Happy Wednesday, Por Vida fans. Welcome to your morning Spurs Starter.

Victor Wembanyama is officially the NBA's Rookie of the Year, completing a season-long campaign riddled with defeat and lessons learned. The Frenchman earned all 99 first-place votes, making him the sixth unanimous winner of the award, and the first San Antonio Spurs victor — no pun intended — since Tim Duncan.

With the win, Wembanyama has officially followed in the footsteps of both Duncan and David Robinson — two other Spurs legends who came before him.

Now, here are some headlines:

THE NEWS

1. WATCH: Nike Drops Victor Wembanyama's Official Logo in New Commercial

Just a few weeks following the conclusion of his rookie season, Nike released its official ad campaign and revealed Victor Wembanyama's signature logo, deeming him "The Alien."

Check out the commercial below and read more at the link above.

2. READ: Victor Wembanyama Wins Rookie of the Year Unanimously

San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama was unanimously named the 2023-24 KIA NBA Rookie of the Year, marking the franchise's first winner since Tim Duncan and third overall.

Check out the full story above.

3. READ: Rudy Gobert Wins 4th Career Defensive Player of the Year Award

After anchoring his team's defense en route to the No. 3 seed — and a first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns — Rudy Gobert was awarded his fourth DPOY, tying the record for most DPOY's in a career by an NBA center and becoming the oldest winner by seasons played.

Read more above.

THE DRAFT

The 2024 NBA Draft is 50 days away, and set to take place over the course of two days — a new format — from Wednesday, June 26 to Thursday, June 27.

According to The Ringer's big board, San Antonio is projected to select UConn's Donovan Clingan with the No. 6 overall pick to headline its 2024 draft class, and Marquette's Tyler Kolek with the No. 33 overall pick.

The NBA Draft Lottery, on the other hand, is only five days away, set to take place in Chicago on Sunday, May 12. The Spurs have a 10.5 percent chance to win the No. 1 overall pick, but the highest odds to land pick No. 7 with a 26.7 percent chance.

You can tune into ESPN to watch full coverage of the lottery — where San Antonio won the right to draft Victor Wembanyama just one season ago.

THE PLAYOFFS

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and company might not be suiting up this postseason, but here are how the rest of the NBA Playoffs are shaking out so far:

West: #1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. #5 Dallas Mavericks

Game 1 between the NBA's second-youngest team and the Luka-Doncic-led Dallas Mavericks tipped off Tuesday evening. Results will be updated as they become final. Oklahoma City is at home.

West: #3 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. #2 Denver Nuggets

Two games into the second round, the Denver Nuggets look almost helpless against the defensive-minded Minnesota Timberwolves. In a game where Rudy Gobert was absent, Minnesota still found a way to get things going, leading to a 106-80 blowout victory and a heating pad on the court thrown by Jamal Murray. Denver will now look to steal a game on the road itself. MIN leads 2-0.

May 6, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) and guard Jamal Murray on the bench.
May 6, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) and guard Jamal Murray on the bench. / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

East: #2 New York Knicks vs. #6 Indiana Pacers

Game 1 between Jalen Brunson's Knicks and the Tyrese-Haliburton-led pacers was a true back-and-forth. Neither team ever led by double digits, but Brunson's 21-point fourth quarter helped New York to hold off the Pacers at home and secure an early-series lead with a 121-117 victory. NYK leads 1-0.

East: #1 Boston Celtics vs. #4 Cleveland Cavaliers

After taking care of business against the Jimmy-Butler-less Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics moved onto facing the Cleveland Cavaliers with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals at stake. Donovan Mitchell dropped 33 points for the Cavaliers, but between Jaylen Brown's 32 and Derrick White's 25, the Celtics closed out a commanding victory at home, 120-95. BOS leads 1-0.

THE CLOSER

Make sure to check out our homepage for more news, and follow us on the platforms below. Thank you for tuning in and enjoy the rest of your Wednesday.

Published
Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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