Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs faced the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. Coming into the game, the Spurs had a 3-0 advantage over the defending NBA champions. The two teams were only scheduled to meet four times, but San Antonio and Oklahoma City met in the semifinal round of the Emirates NBA Cup. There was a lot of hype for their fourth clash of the season.
Unfortunately for the Spurs, they couldn’t capitalize on their strong start to the season series and suffered a 119-98 loss. Wembanyama finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and a block. His production wasn’t enough for San Antonio to beat OKC.
On the other side, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a 34-point outing to lead the Thunder to their first win of the season against the Spurs. The Canadian star also had five rebounds, five assists and four blocks.
Almost every time the Spurs and Thunder play against each other, two-time NBA champion Alex Caruso is tasked with defending the 7-foot-4 star. After the contest, he was asked about what it’s like to be the defender for the French superstar.
“Offensively, he’s still really raw,” Caruso said. “If he gets five feet within the goal, he can just dunk it or grab it and put it in. Just working early, against any person that’s big that’s really good in the league, you try to work early and get him away from the basket.
“His length is an issue but he’s not as strong as a Giannis, like a Jokic, Sengun, KD even. He’ll get to his spot and be on balance… That’s something you have to use to your advantage.”
Wembanyama is still a young star who is expected to grow into one of the best stars in the NBA.
Victor Wembanyama doesn’t care if he’s the villain for the Thunder
Victor Wembanyama welcomed the hostility of the crowd at the Paycom Center on Tuesday. After the game, he talked to the media and said that the energy from the opposing crowd often gives him motivation to play better.
“For sure,” Wembanyama said. “This is what makes us better, obviously more than a team that would ignore me, this makes me better.”
The big man also downplayed the reception from Thunder fans.
“It didn’t feel like that. Of course, I hear the booing. I heard one f**k you, but it was just one, you know what I mean?”
“I think it’s been more than that in other places. From the court, it felt like it wasn’t automatic [the hostile treatment from the crowd], but once we got some calls, it got louder.”
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will face the Thunder for the last time this season on Feb. 4.
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Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at reignamuraonba@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
