The last time the San Antonio Spurs lost more than 60 games in a season was in 1996–97. That year, the team lost superstar center David Robinson to a back and foot injury, and his loss turned a perennial playoff team into one of the worst in the league.
However, this bad luck quickly turned into good fortune when they won the Draft Lottery and the right to select the consensus number one pick, Tim Duncan. Suffice it to say, that pick worked out for the Spurs; Duncan became one of the greatest players in the sport’s history, and San Antonio never won less than 50 games in a season (excluding the strike-shortened 1998-99 campaign) and collected five NBA championships during his tenure there.
Fast forward to 2023, and the stars have aligned again for the Spurs, as the team appears set to acquire the biggest player in this year’s draft class. Even though this year’s 22-60 team wasn’t the result of injury misfortune, their success in the lottery remained the same. As a result, they are primed to sign French phenom Victor Wembanyama.
The projected top pick could turn around a Spurs team that has struggled since losing Kawhi Leonard.
Hyped as a “generational talent”, the Spurs hope that the multi-talented 7-footer lives up to expectations. If he does, then they are getting someone who could fill a lot of gaping holes for them.
Victor Wembanyama can transform the San Antonio Spurs’ rim defense.
Teams that are as bad as the Spurs tend to have numerous issues that contributed to their poor performance. One of their problem areas was rim protection. In addition to ranking 28th in blocks per 100 possessions, they also allowed the fourth-most attempts inside the restricted area per game.
The lack of blocks and the abundance of opponent shots under the rim denotes a lack of fear for the Spurs’ big men. The 7-foot-2 Wembanyama could change that, if this scouting report is any indication:
"[Wembanyama’s] impact on the defensive end alone would make him one of the best prospects in recent memory as he displayed at the FIBA U19 World Cup where he averaged 5.7 blocks per game… 5.7! With a wingspan as long as the lines to get into the Louvre on a summer day, Wembanyama single-handedly altered or destroyed opponents games plans and strategies. Wembanyama’s block parties aren’t just at the rim, he’s blocking floaters, runners and hooks. He was so dominant at the rim, a few possessions it looks as if the game plan was to take him out the paint to make him defend in space… And it didnt work. His agility, fluidity and mobility allows him to defend small guards and he uses his ridiculous 7’8 wing span to smother ball handlers who have the audacity to attack him off the dribble."
Of course, it will take some time for Wembanyama to acclimate to the physicality of the NBA, but even if you have the most conservative projection of how he performs as a rookie, it’s hard to imagine him allowing more easy shots than the 2022-23 Spurs bigs.
Victor Wembanyama will improve the Spurs’ offense with his versatility
The Spurs struggled in nearly every facet of offense. Scoring 4.6 fewer points per 100 than the league average, San Antonio couldn’t do much right on this end of the floor. They couldn’t generate much in the pick-and-roll (26th in ball handler PPP, 29th in roll man PPP), didn’t perform much better on off-ball screens (19th in PPP), produced little on spot-ups (25th in PPP), and were anemic in the open court (last in PPP).
When you need to improve just about everything about your offense, it helps to bring in someone who can seemingly do everything on that side of things, and Wembanyama fits that bill.
If you need a score off a post-up, Wembanyama is your guy. Need an off-the-dribble bucket, Wembanyama can get you that. Do you have some nifty pin-down sets? Wembanyama can run them. Open 3s? Wembanyama can hit them. Putbacks? As you’ll see, Wembanyama has that covered, too, even off of his own misses.
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Once Wembanyama adjusts to the NBA, he will solve plenty of the Spurs’ problems with his multi-dimensional skillset. Gregg Popovich will find endless ways to use him on offense.
Victor Wembanyama will give the Spurs hope for a return to prominence
Since the Kawhi Leonard debacle that led to his departure from the team, the Spurs have become an afterthought. Since the split with Leonard, San Antonio has made the playoffs once (2019), and that lone appearance ended in the first round. This four-season stretch of missing the postseason is the longest drought in franchise history, including their time in the ABA.
Between George Gervin and Artis Gilmore in the ’70s and ’80s, David Robinson in the ’90s, the Duncan/Tony Parker/Manu Ginobili triumvirate in the 2000s and 2010s, and getting a couple of Kawhi Leonard’s superstar years, Spurs fans have seen a lot of good basketball in their town.
With Wembanyama now one draft selection away, those good times could continue soon.
Picking Wembanyama doesn’t come without concerns, but that’s true for every draft pick. Any worries about him playing lackluster competition or his slender frame pale in comparison to the immense positives he could bring to the team. If he lives up to the hype, the Spurs will be a championship contender.
For a franchise that’s used to hearing those words associated with the team, that sounds significantly better than what it has endured for the last few years.