San Antonio Spurs Not Worried Despite Victor Wembanyama's Foul Trouble

Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs debut did not go exactly as planned, but Gregg Popovich saw the big man's maturity despite bumping into some obstacles the game.

Victor Wembanyama's debut has been all the buzz since he was drafted, and it did not go quite as planned, as Wemby found himself in foul trouble.

Despite only playing 23 minutes in the game, Wembanyama finished with 15 points on 6-9 shooting. His debut stat line evokes memories of San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan's debut, as he finished with same amount of points on the same shooting percentage in his first game as well.

After accumulating three fouls in the first half and only scoring six points on two three-pointers made, Wemby made up for it in the second half. In the fourth quarter alone, the big man scored nine points and showed what he could really do with extended minutes. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich spoke more on how he felt Wembanyama's debut went in the post-game conference.

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama showed his maturity despite being in foul trouble early / © Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports

“One of the toughest things for a player is to get into foul trouble,” Popovich said. “You never get into a rhythm, you’re in and out of the game and that sort of thing. I thought his maturity showed, even at a young age where he came in with the last seven minutes and just played."

Despite Wembanyama checking into the game in the fourth quarter only one foul away from being disqualified from play, the Spurs still ran plays for him and let him show just a fraction of what he can do on the court.

"We ran some stuff for him, he executed where a lot of guys would have been totally out of it by then because, as you said, were in foul trouble and didn’t get the rhythm. I thought he had a wonderful outing considering that," Popovich said.

Wembanyama will have another chance to show his maturity and impact on the court when he and the rest of the Spurs play their next game on Friday against the new-look Houston Rockets. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the Frost Bank Center.