Victor Wembanyama returns to give Spurs emotional edge against Thunder in NBA Cup Semifinals win
The Spurs top the Thunder 111-109 to advance to the Emirates NBA Cup Championship while snapping OKC’s 16-game win streak.
LAS VEGAS — It made for quite the coincidence and convenience that the return of Victor Wembanyama and the return to Earth by the Oklahoma City Thunder would happen on the same night, inside the same arena and during the same Emirates NBA Cup Semifinal game, twin forces that understandably produced a spectacle.
Like, which drew more awe?
The Thunder losing for only the second time in 26 games to start the season?
Or Wemby, the freakish San Antonio Spurs center in his first action in three weeks, being a big reason for that L?
Let’s go with the latter, if only because (a) OKC was destined to have a faulty night at some point — and this one certainly qualified — and (b) the wait for Wemby dropped a reminder of how effectively he can impact outcomes and elevate a team.
Now, some perspective — just as it was for the Thunder, it wasn’t all pretty for Wemby. He was stripped of the ball multiple times. He had his shot blocked by Lu Dort, who stands a foot shorter. He had his legs crossed up and clumsily fell to the floor a few times. Those and a few more.
Still, getting this performance from a rusty Wemby was a flare shot fired into the air, a warning for 28 teams plus the one that lost for the first time since Nov. 5 and was denied a trip to the NBA Cup Final on Tuesday (8:30 ET, Prime). And they got this from Wemby not against one of the league’s lesser teams, but the No. 1-rated Thunder, and in the pressure of a Cup elimination game at that.
Victor Wembanyama finishes with 22 points to carry the Spurs past the Thunder and into the NBA Cup Championship.
“I feel very lucky because it’s just this kind of situations where I know I can trust my inner self to get in that zone to just make the right things happen,” Wemby said.
The Spurs were hell-bent on keeping tight reigns on Wemby with a minutes restriction — he played 21 — and yet he still managed to apply his footprint on OKC. They played him in the final five minutes of a one-point game because it was meaningful and Wemby’s body responded favorably.
“In a way it was the worst-case scenario for his first game back with the restrictions, and there’s just so much that he could not control or have a say-so,” said Spurs coach Mitch Johnson. “So it was going to be a little bit of a wild card, and I think for him, he just put himself into the game.
“I thought that was great. I thought he played unapologetically. I thought he played relentless. I thought he played too fast at times and it was all for the right reasons and the right intentions. I wouldn’t change any of it. Every possession that he continues to experience and grow through and grow from is going to be best for him and best for us.”
The statistical total of 22 points and nine rebounds only explained part of his night. It was his presence, his determination and even his flex — defiantly and muscularly rolling his shoulders at Cason Wallace while misfiring on a shot — that gave the Spurs a needed emotional edge.
Wemby didn’t start the game, and didn’t enter until the start of the second quarter, receiving a warm applause by a crowd eager to see him suit up again. And those fans weren’t as anxious as the player who generated all the attention.
Once he did enter, what happened then, with the Spurs trailing by 11?
Wemby promptly scored on a tip-in. Then he assisted a Dylan Harper 3-pointer. Suddenly, and everyone could sense it, the tenor changed and the scoreboard followed.
Understand that, before his calf strain, Wemby generated Kia MVP talk and attention, starting with his opening night 40-piece demolition of the Dallas Mavericks and elite defender Anthony Davis. Others followed. Yes, it was early in the season, a small sample size, too soon to see if it was sustainable for six months.
Then the injury hit and brought everything to a temporary halt.
Fortunately for the Spurs, their time without Wemby was as encouraging as his healing process. Neither experienced a hiccup. The Spurs went 9-4 and Wemby recovered roughly when the time off estimate said he would.
But if the Spurs were a step up from decent without Wemby, what might they be with him for, fingers crossed in San Antonio, the rest of the season?
Maybe they’ll toss him more lobs off inbound passes, which Wemby snatched and dunked on OKC. And he can command most of the attention and give his teammates more open shots than they had without him.
And certainly he can cover for them on the glass and at the rim. Just ask Chet Holmgren, the Thunder center who was swatted by Wemby.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the way for the Thunder with 29 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
For sure, this wasn’t OKC’s night, not after winning 16 straight. The Thunder couldn’t shoot straight, just 9-for-37 from deep, just 41% overall. Also, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was uncommonly mild; he was careless with the ball (five turnovers) and only took four trips to the free-throw line. Both of those developments were weird for him this season.
Shai had no help, anyway. Holmgren and Jalen Williams combined for eight buckets, and only Alex Caruso, who at times guarded Wemby, put up a consistent fight.
“I think it’s a good game for to us learn from in general,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. “It’s an 82-game season. We want to be a team that gets better through all of our experiences. You’re not going to be perfect every game.”
But, Wemby. The Spurs were 21 points better with him on the floor and 18 points worse when he was on the bench. That lopsided ratio explained everything. It was just a different energy with him involved.
“He’s been itching to play,” said Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox. “Then coming back to a game like this, in a game of this magnitude, against a team like that, I think that’s probably the toughest first game that you can have of any one in this league. But he rose to the occasion and I don’t think anybody in the locker room thought that he wouldn’t.”
The Spurs are in a unique spot approaching Tuesday’s Cup Final. On one hand, there are two days off between games, plenty of time for Wemby to space his body. That said, this is a championship game and therefore a meaningful one for a mostly young team comprised of several players who have never made the playoffs.
If the contest against the Knicks is a tight one, and his minutes restriction is expired, what does that make of Wemby? Perhaps the Spurs will lean on their results during his injury absence and trust it in a winner-take-all.
And anyway, there’s no tough scenario. The Spurs have won. Not necessarily the Cup title, although they’ve positioned themselves for that. They won because Wemby just put the league on alert.
“I know I’m taking care of my body like nobody else, so I have really no reason to worry,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any more things I could do to put myself in a better place.”
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
