Victor Wembanyama Is Taking the Spurs to the WCF Just Two Years After They Won 22 Games
Two seasons ago, the San Antonio Spurs won 22 games. They were bad on purpose, tanking for the best shot at the top pick in a draft that had one obvious answer. Victor Wembanyama was worth it.
The Spurs are now in the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2017. The jump from 22 wins to 62 wins to a WCF appearance is among the fastest legitimate turnarounds in NBA history, and Wembanyama is the reason.
He won Defensive Player of the Year unanimously this season, becoming the youngest player to ever claim that award outright. On offense, he’s stretching defenses with a perimeter shooting range that no center in history has matched at his size. He plays center but functions like a point guard when he decides to handle. He blocks shots from the front, side, and seemingly from a different zip code than the ball.
The WCF matchup against OKC begins Monday on NBC and Peacock. The Spurs won four of five regular season meetings against the Thunder, and Wembanyama has spent the last week providing a detailed scouting report on OKC publicly. He’s not shy about the fact that he’s studied them and believes San Antonio has the answers.
Whether they do or not, this series represents a significant moment for the franchise and for Wembanyama personally. He’ll face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, one of the few players in the league who can match his individual brilliance from a pure offensive standpoint. The stylistic contrast between these two teams, defensive depth versus offensive creation, makes this one of the most compelling WCF matchups in years.
Twenty-two wins. Two years. Western Conference Finals. Wembanyama is not messing around.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
