Victor Wembanyama Bounces Back; Spurs Lose vs. Blazers

The San Antonio Spurs lost their first Summer League game, but Victor Wembanyama looked more like himself.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 9, 2023

Victor Wembanyama Bounces Back; Spurs Lose vs. Blazers /

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San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs (1-1) are finding themselves on the losing end of their first Summer League game, an 85-80 defeat at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers (1-1) Sunday evening at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

With two minutes to go, Victor Wembanyama hit a three to cut the Spurs deficit to a single point. After a Blazers three from Michael Devoe, Dominick Barlow responded with a mid-range jumper to cut the four-point deficit to two. However, that was as close as the Spurs got. Portland closed it out with a late bucket and free throws to ice the game.

After struggling mightily in Friday's debut, No. 1 overall pick Wembanyama looked more like the promises scouts were delivering. He scored 27 points on 9 of 14 shooting. His 12 rebounds gave him his first NBA double-double.

It's promising to see Wemby play well, especially after Friday's disappointing performance. The French phenom was due and he looked like the player everyone envisioned. It is only Summer League, but perhaps the panic in Spurs fans can drop a little bit after tonight's game.

The Spurs are back in action Tuesday night against Wembanyama's former Metropolitans 92 teammate Bilal Coulibaly and the Washington Wizards. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. on NBA TV.

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Published Jul 9, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.