Tall Order
San Antonio spurred into frenzy over Victor Wembanyama's NBA debut
Even though The Spurs lost, Victor Wembanyama had a triumphant debut.
The San Antonio Spurs have been on fire basically forever, constantly making headlines and previously holding the highest winning percentage in the NBA, among other achievements. But on October 25, the team really created excitement with the NBA debut of first overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama.
The Spurs won the right to select Wembanyama in the draft lottery in May, and it was clear right away who the team wanted to pull in. Wembanyama, a 19-year-old French player, is tied with Houston's Boban Marjanović for the title of the tallest player currently in the NBA — but he is also praised for being able to move with grace despite his size.
Of course, the debut could not go completely smoothly after all the hype; Wembanyama caught five fouls, but ultimately finished the game, ultimately playing for a total of 23 minutes. The Spurs lost to the Dallas Mavericks, but not by much at 126-119. Many outlets credit Luka Dončić, another golden player with several more years in the NBA under his belt, for The Spurs' loss. Dončić started his season a rare triple-double, and was aided by Dallas' own rookie, Dereck Lively II.
Over the course of the game, Wembanyama scored 15 points, including a dunk that barely required a hop off the ground.
X (formerly Twitter) is ablaze with comparisons between Wemanyama (sometimes colloquially called Wemby) and older greats, with some commenters pointing out that even though the rookie scored fewer points, he did so with less game time. His fourth quarter was the comeback that got fans really excited.
Some users shared impressive footage of the crowd showing out with enthusiasm for the new season and newcomer.
ESPNcovered Wemby's performance with a strong claim: "Still, Wembanyama set the stage for what many expect could be a Rookie of the Year season in his highly anticipated NBA debut."
