The San Antonio Spurs famously – perhaps infamously – cautious approach to player injuries has carried over to superstar Victor Wembanyama. For the better part of a Rookie of the Year season, the franchise capped the number of minutes he’d play per game. Oftentimes, coach Gregg Popovich didn’t allow Wemby to suit up on the tail-end of a back-to-back.
That appeared to be the plan again Saturday vs. the Golden State Warriors with the French big man returning from a three-game absence because of a knee contusion.
The keyword there is appeared.
ClutchPoints asked the generational talent if minutes restriction came up through the course of a 104-94 victory over the Dubs, given that he played nearly 35 minutes.
“That’s way over my minutes restriction indeed. But I’m not going to complain.”
In helping the Spurs knock off the team that still shares the best record in the Western Conference, Wembanyama scored 12 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter.
“He embraces moments for sure,” acting head coach Mitch Johnson said.
Victor Wembanyama shakes off rust in Spurs return
The 7-foot-5 phenom had not played since knocking knees with Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis in a 120-115 loss to the Lake Show on November 15. He struggled for most of Saturday night vs. the Warriors.
“Yeah, getting back in the rhythm. When you suit up, things happen and you’ve got to catch the train while it’s going. I think what you’ve got to do in this situation is play for your teammates and try and try to fit in.”
Even with the fourth-quarter flurry that helped San Antonio to its third straight win, the 20-year-old center shot just 4-for-13 from three-point range and 9-for-21 on all field goals.
“He’s had an off-and-on start like we’ve all talked about for a few months now,” Johnson said, “So some of his stints were probably a little shorter just to try to maximize his production and effort.”
“That’s happened before,” Wemby answered when asked about struggling from the field.
“Stop shooting, never,” he continued in responding on whether it would ever cross his mind to stop shooting.
“I wouldn’t see it like that, I would see it more like, ‘OK, that’s his night, let’s go to him,’ to any of my teammates. It could be their night so I would see it more like that – trying to really extensively go to somebody because they’re hot and they feel it. That’s more like it.”
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Still, the top overall pick of the 2023 Draft finished with 25 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds.
“I thought he was a grown man in the fourth quarter,” Johnson added.
“I thought some of his rebounds, some of his catches, some of his passes, some of the simple stuff that is a really big emphasis for him – because he does these amazing things, it’s so natural – that when he can command the fundamentals and dominate the fundamentals, he’s a load.”
That fourth quarter performance may have very well proven the deciding factor in how much Wembanyama played vs. Golden State.
“Any night, I’ll just keep shooting.”
That’s just fine with the Spurs, who are now 9-8 after going 22-60 just a year ago.