Victor Wembanyama carried the Spurs’ Finals loss into the summer, and he did not try to outrun it. San Antonio’s 22-year-old centerpiece said the defeat to New York stayed with him through difficult nights, then became part of the work that brought the roster back together before training camp.
Key takeaways
- Wembanyama said San Antonio is embracing the pain of its five-game NBA Finals defeat rather than trying to bury it.
- The Spurs center hosted teammates in Paris during August for workouts and time away from the court.
- He followed that trip with training sessions at Provence Rugby in Aix-en-Provence focused on balance, strength and contact.
- Wembanyama posted 26 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game in the series against the Knicks.
- New York erased a 29-point Spurs lead in Game 4, winning 107-106 in the largest comeback in NBA Finals history.
Paris work gave the group a reset
Wembanyama’s offseason routine is typically exacting, from nutrition and workouts to a usual 9 p.m. bedtime. Even with that structure, the Finals lingered. He said there were nights when sleep did not come easily as he processed how close the Spurs had come.
“It is still unfolding,” Wembanyama said at San Antonio’s media day Monday. “You have to accept it, go through those feelings and feel all of it. We are not trying to hide from anything.”
His focus is now on the full schedule ahead. Wembanyama noted that the Spurs have more than 100 games to navigate if they make another deep postseason run, and said the club enters the season optimistic, ambitious and ready.
Part of that reset happened in his home city. Wembanyama brought teammates to Paris in August, organizing on-court work while also giving the group time to eat together and reconnect. He described having the roster around him in Paris as especially meaningful.
Point guard Dylan Harper said the trip mattered beyond the drills. Getting the roster into the same room, sharing meals and becoming more comfortable around one another made it easier for players to speak honestly, he said. Harper identified accountability as a daily standard for the group, regardless of setting.
Finals collapse is now part of the Spurs’ fuel
After the Paris sessions, Wembanyama went to Aix-en-Provence to work with Provence Rugby. The training was designed to sharpen his footwork, build lower-body force and help him handle physical play. Wembanyama said the sessions were demanding and beneficial for his vestibular system, unfamiliar movement patterns and strength development.
The rugby stop continued an unconventional offseason approach for the 7-foot-4 center. Last summer, he spent two weeks at the Shaolin Temple in China.
San Antonio’s young roster reached the Finals sooner than many expected after Wembanyama became the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft. The breakthrough ended painfully. The Spurs held double-digit advantages in each of their losses to the Knicks, and Game 4 delivered the sharpest blow: New York climbed out of a 29-point hole for a 107-106 win.
The sequence revived memories of the 2013 Finals, when San Antonio surrendered a five-point edge in the final 28 seconds of Game 6 against Miami before losing Game 7. Gregg Popovich’s Spurs turned that disappointment into the drive behind their 2014 championship.
Forward Julian Champagnie said the current team has another chance to return to the stage it reached last season, with a clearer understanding of what must change. The priority, he said, is handling what the team can control and using last season’s experience to push through this year’s obstacles.
Wembanyama’s summary was simple: “I cannot think of better motivation.”
