Graney: That’s more like it — Wembanyama shines in 2nd summer game
The most impressive part of the play was how he ran the floor, how quickly someone his size sprinted the length of a court. Sure. He caught the pass. He dunked. He did the expected, too.
OK, so it was a fadeaway dunk from the baseline.
So maybe that was the most impressive part of the play.
Stop panicking. Victor Wembanyama can play basketball.
He was much better in his second NBA Summer League game than his first, like two completely different players. The greatest prospect known to man — isn’t that how most have defined the 7-foot-3-inch star from France? — looked far more like his No. 1 overall selection from San Antonio on Sunday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The Spurs would fall to Portland 85-80. I’m not sure how many in the packed arena cared much about the score until the final minutes, when boos rained down for any foul called against San Antonio.
Yep. It was all about Wembanyama. Again.
How they wanted him to have a final shot to tie or win it. Would have been something.
He would finish with a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds on 9-of-14 shooting, a far contrast from the 2-of-13 line in his opener here Friday. He was admittedly lost then. He didn’t appear at all this time.
Star power
“To me, it’s just about getting comfortable with myself and my body and the court,” Wembanyama said. “Before today, I had two practices and one game with (the Spurs). I was just getting it going tonight.”
The only thing missing was Scoot Henderson, the No. 3 overall pick of Portland and a former G League Ignite star. He sat after injuring a shoulder in the team’s first summer game here, taking away from the atmosphere the anticipated matchup between him and Wembanyama.
But there was enough interest with the latter.
“All you have to do is just throw (the ball) up,” Spurs guard Blake Wesley said. “It’s pretty easy.”
Wembanyama hit an open mid-range jumper. Dribbled between his legs and elevated over a defender for another. Grabbed an offensive rebound with his right hand and scored through contact with his left. Another offensive rebound. Another thunderous dunk. A long 3-pointer. Post-up, spin, score off the glass over two defenders.
The sort of stuff that would cause Britney Spears to want a picture with him.
“I can’t speak for him, but I’d be lying to say he probably didn’t feel some (pressure on Friday night),” Spurs summer coach Matt Nielsen said. “But he showed his talent (Sunday), his resilience to step up in quite a few areas. He was outstanding.”
He also knows who his coach will be for the foreseeable future.
The Spurs and Gregg Popovich agreed to a new five-year contract reportedly worth more than $80 million. Great work if you can get it.
But perhaps more than any of Wembanyama’s basketball tools, more than what he might or might not do during games as a rookie, Popovich will likely spend as much time thinking about what’s occurring above the player’s shoulders.
Makes sense.
The success of Wembanyama early on will be as much mental as physical, dealing with the way-too-immense pressure that comes with being him. How he develops off the court could be as significant as on it. They’re one and the same, each equally important.
‘Want to hoop’
He was much better a second time around. Looked the part. More and more confident with each positive play. There were even reports Wembanyama skipped the Summer Players Party at Tao to get his rest for Sunday’s game.
“In the past month, I think basketball wasn’t even 50 percent of my schedule,” he said. “I can’t stand it. I know it’s a special moment in my life, but I’m glad it’s over. I just want to hoop. I just want to work out and lift.
“This is my life.”
A fallaway dunk from the baseline.
Come on. Even if it is just Summer League.
Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing and be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter
