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Victor Wembanyama is expected to make the San Antonio Spurs more competitive next season in his first year in the NBA. The Spurs had the second-worst record in the NBA (22-60), which is what they needed to land the French generational talent.
Chris Broussard, on “First Things First,” is on the same boat as almost every basketball fan and analyst. He sees the No. 1 pick of the draft doing great things but with a little caveat:
“I’m expecting Wembanyama to put up big numbers as a rookie; don’t expect a Spurs playoff berth, though.
“I’m expecting 20+ points, 8-9 rebounds, it might be a little low, but we’ll see, 2-3 blocks, which is huge in the NBA.
“I expect him to have a great individual season, not necessarily make the playoffs because I don’t know what veterans will be there and he’s Rookie of the Year."
Next year’s San Antonio Spurs will likely feature emerging players such as Jeremy Sochan, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Malaki Branham. Veterans Doug McDermott, Zach Collins, Devonte’ Graham and Khem Birch could be retained.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will make Victor Wembanyama the focal point of everything they run on both ends of the floor. Sochan, Vassell and Johnson, who had superb performances last season, will have to adjust their game around “Wemby.”
San Antonio has tradable players and draft capital to acquire veterans to maximize everything that Wembanyama brings. If the Spurs can get proven players who will gel with the team, Broussard isn’t closing his doors on a potential return to the playoffs.
Victor Wembanyama can drag the San Antonio Spurs to the play-in tournament
Las Vegas predicts the San Antonio Spurs to get at least 35 wins in Victor Wembanyama’s first year in the NBA. The last time they had more than 35 wins was during the 2018-19 season when they won 48 games.
Wembanyama, the improvements of Sochan, Vassell and Johnson and veteran help may just be enough for the Spurs to contend for the play-in tournament.
Naz Reid, Brook Lopez and Fred VanVleet are just three of the names that have been linked to the San Antonio Spurs. Reid and Lopez are superb fits as centers alongside Wembanyama, who already said that he’d prefer to play the power forward spot. VanVleet is a significant upgrade over Devonte Graham.
If the Spurs can acquire two of those, they could challenge for one of the two play-in spots.
Here’s what Kendrick Perkins predicted about Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs:
“I think he’s gonna make the All-Star game next year as a rookie. I also think that the Spurs are gonna be in the play-in tournament. All you have to do is not be in the bottom five of the Western Conference.
"With this man’s skillset, it’s gonna be real.
The Spurs don't want to rush "Wemby," but they also know how to build a playoff-caliber team. Basketball fans can't wait to see how San Antonio will do in the French phenom's rookie season.
