Victor Wembanyama’s MVP campaign opened with a rough one. The San Antonio Spurs fell 116-104 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night at Frost Bank Center, and Wemby didn’t dodge the reasons why, as ClutchPoints reported.
The numbers were strange. Wemby finished with 12 points on 1-of-13 shooting, but still grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked 6 shots. As a team, San Antonio shot 39 percent, and OKC turned 14 Spurs turnovers into 31 fast-break points.
The IAHHM Take
What stood out wasn’t the shooting. It was the honesty. Wemby pointed at bad closeouts and defensive miscommunication, said the Thunder kept making the extra pass while the Spurs weren’t matching the effort, and summed it up bluntly: “I’m sure they were having fun tonight.”
That’s the right energy from a franchise player. The Spurs made the NBA Finals last season and came into this one as contenders, with Wemby as the MVP favorite. Across the floor was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the two-time reigning MVP, on a Thunder team that won the title about 16 months ago. Opening night told us this rivalry is going to be the West’s main event all year, and right now OKC still has the upper hand.
One bad shooting night from a 7-footer who still swatted six shots isn’t a crisis. Fourteen turnovers and 31 points in transition against the champs-before-last? That’s the part Gregg Popovich’s successors will be drilling this week.
Next up for San Antonio is a trip to Austin to face the Houston Rockets in the I-35 Series.
Is this a blip for Wemby, or does OKC still have San Antonio’s number? Let us hear it.
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Source: ClutchPoints
