NBA Power Rankings: Victor Wembanyama Enough For the San Antonio Spurs to Compete?

Victor Wembanyama immediately makes the Spurs better, but does that mean they can compete this season?

The San Antonio Spurs will be better than they were last year just solely based off of the fact that they now have a certain 7-4, French rookie phenom.

But the burning question is if Victor Wembanyama will be enough for the Spurs to compete and make the playoffs right away in his rookie season. Some people don't believe that that will be the case, and that the Spurs might have to wait a couple seasons.

In his annual NBA Power Rankings, Marc Stein ranked the Spurs at the number 25 spot, as he does not think that just having Wemby is enough to make the playoffs in the big man's rookie year.

San Antonio Spurs' forward Victor Wembanyama (1) raises up for a jump shot over Golden State Warriors center Kevon Looney / USA Today Sports

"The Spurs will not win 56 games in Victor Wembanyama's rookie season like they did when Tim Duncan showed up, but that's because those Spurs also had David Robinson and a team around them poised to contend," Stein writes. 

With that being said, he also believes that Wemby will make the Spurs much better than they were last season just purely as a result of his freakish potential and unique play style.

"We've seen enough from Wemby in the preseason to confidently declare that he will be the Rookie of the Year. We’ve also seen enough from him alone to lift the Spurs out of the Bottom 5 in a nod to the excitement that awaits. Forget about whatever you remember from summer league. The 19-year-old has already achieved must-see, drop-everything-to-watch-him status."

Wembanyama and the rest of the Spurs will get their first chance to prove Stein's rankings wrong when they open their regular season against the Dallas Mavericks. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. from the Frost Bank Center.