SAN ANTONIO — At the coda of a night he and the basketball world had long awaited, Victor Wembanyama had one last thing to do.
As Wembanyama wrapped up his NBC interview after the San Antonio Spurs’ 111-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the teams’ first-round playoff series, and the sea of bodies surrounding him parted to clear a path toward the tunnel, he suddenly paused. To his left was another crowd for De’Aaron Fox, his fellow All-Star, his vet, his point guard. Wembanyama goes as Fox goes. They shut the door on the game with a clever delayed pick-and-roll that had the Blazers’ defense fooled. They cleaned up each other’s mistakes and always had an eye out for each other. After a stellar regular season that flipped the NBA on its head, they know how much they rely on each other to reach their potential.
So with Fox the lone remaining Spur on the floor, Wembanyama had to wait to escort his point guard back to the locker room.
“Because nobody walks alone,” Wembanyama said after winning his playoff debut. “It’s all natural. He would’ve done the same thing for me. It’s not much.”
A small gesture from the largest presence in the room goes pretty far. That’s been the “Spurs Way.” This is the latest edition of it.
The franchise’s mantra, pounding the rock, is about small moments that build to big breakthroughs. Waiting an extra 10 seconds is the difference between isolation and togetherness, which is not lost on this team and its best player.
Wembanyama’s first playoff game could have been about him in so many ways. There was his journey back from last year’s blood clot that was a central storyline throughout this past season, even if it seemed to fade into the ether following the All-Star break. Or just the fact that the man who is clearly next up to be the face of the league finally got to take the main stage.
But it was ultimately about a passing of the torch, a reminder that Wembanyama, 22, is next in a long lineage. In the building were Gregg Popovich, Manu Ginobili and George Gervin, living relics of the franchise’s past. During the fourth quarter, Tim Duncan and David Robinson were shown on the Jumbotron sitting together. The Spurs’ Twin Towers of yesteryear, reunited in a vital moment.
Robinson gave Duncan bunny ears, they laughed, the crowd erupted and everyone felt the joy of the Spurs’ decorated past once again. A few minutes later, Wembanyama surpassed Duncan for the most points in a playoff debut by a Spur.
The Spurs experienced one of the greatest prolonged eras of greatness when Duncan and Robinson first united, turning into a dynasty when Robinson passed the torch of the “Spurs Way” to Duncan. Then Duncan handed the baton to Kawhi Leonard and, well, that didn’t work out. The Spurs went into the wilderness for seven years, reemerging now with the ultimate heir apparent to their long line of bigs. It’s not just that Wembanyama is great now and will be historically great quite soon. It’s that he leads with class, confidence and camaraderie.
So when he looks at the pressure that comes with being atop the playoff throne he formally assumed Sunday, he doesn’t feel the burden of following in Robinson and Duncan’s footsteps.
“I wouldn’t say weight. I would say it feels safe,” Wembanyama said. “It feels like if you trip, there’s a lot of hands that’s ready to catch you. From day one, it’s felt that way.”
For a team billed as inexperienced up-and-comers, there is hardly a leadership void. Beyond the legends lurking in the building, the roster is meticulously constructed, with a balance of precocious young stars and seasoned vets who have served in a variety of roles. That’s kept the locker room fresh, with different players hitting different notes to maintain harmony.
Keldon Johnson gets most of the attention for his leadership. Fox is the experienced All-Star. Harrison Barnes is the sage champ with the calming voice the team often needs.
But there’s a reason guys like Kelly Olynyk and Bismack Biyombo are around, even if they don’t play much. So much of their jobs is to find moments to bring the team together, knowing how it will pay off in the long run.
When the Spurs were in Miami in late March, Olynyk, a 12-year vet, former member of the Heat and one of the three players on the roster who has been to the Finals, came to the team with an idea. Olynyk brought his tailor into the Four Seasons to have everyone on the roster fitted for made-to-measure suits. Custom-made suits don’t just spawn overnight. They take time to develop, just like this team did.
Sure enough, they arrived just in time for Game 1. Julian Champagnie’s pants had landed the day before. And in the Spurs walked before the game, one by one, rocking their black on black looks. Wembanyama went double-breasted with peak lapels, while Dylan Harper kept it simple and classic, telling NBA Social’s Jenny Fischer that it was the first time he’s worn a suit since draft night.
But it was the proper fit for the occasion, a coronation of the Spurs’ next generation. The team’s first foray into the postseason felt no different from the highly competitive games it had played over the past few months. It was physical and aggressive, with the Blazers jumping through a variety of tactics and matchups to cover Wembanyama. He picked most of the coverages apart and buried five of his six 3-point attempts when they gave him the room to shoot. The Frenchman had a sequence spinning past the Blazers’ Deni Avdija that will stay glued to his highlight reel for a long time. It was the kind of holistic performance that separates great players, beating everything the opponent throws at them.
In the presence of those who came before him and lived up to the Spurs’ standard, Wembanyama’s playoff debut was confirmation that he is who he appears to be. He has a long way to go from winning a title to one day sitting in the stands, getting bunny ears from another franchise legend. But this was the right start on the big stage, before and after the final buzzer.
