SAN ANTONIO (AP) 鈥� Victor Wembanyama had to watch the visiting team become champions, again.
The Wemby era of the NBA is fully underway, with the 7-foot-4 French star unanimously winning the Defensive Player of the Year award this season, finishing third in the Most Valuable Player balloting and making first-team All-NBA for the first of what could be many, many times if all goes according to his plan.
But the ultimate moment has escaped his grasp for the second time in three years. In 2024, he tearfully watched the U.S. celebrate winning Olympic gold at the Paris Olympics 鈥� and now, he relived that moment by seeing the New York Knicks celebrating their first championship in 53 years by winning Game 5 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio on Saturday night.
鈥淭his is the biggest lesson of my life, the biggest learning moment,鈥� the 22-year-old Wembanyama said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell you exactly what the lesson is, but we鈥檙e learning from that, for sure. I鈥檓 learning more than any other time in my life before.鈥�
His numbers in the finals: 26 points, 11.2 rebounds. 3.6 blocks per game. They were good, just not good enough.
And his series, fairly or unfairly, will also be remembered for some mistakes: The turnover that led to Jalen Brunson鈥檚 go-ahead free throw in New York鈥檚 Game 2 win (a game where Wembanyama missed a jump shot to win at the buzzer); and missing a pair of crucial free throws with 1:47 left in Game 4, the one where the Spurs wasted a 29-point lead and lost by one in what became the biggest collapse in finals history. The Spurs wasted double-digit leads in all four losses, including a 16-point cushion in what became the season finale.
鈥淭he margin of error is very thin,鈥� Wembanyama said. 鈥淥ur domination stints are absolute. We absolutely dominated for most of the series. But our errors, our mistakes, are punished so hard that we can鈥檛 have ups and downs like this. … The ups are OK. The downs are the reason we lost.鈥�
It’s only Year 3 for Wemby. It’s not like every star wins right away.
It took Michael Jordan seven seasons to win his first championship. LeBron James needed nine years. Jerry West needed 12 years for his one and only title. John Stockton and Karl Malone never got one. Charles Barkley, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony didn鈥檛 get one, either.
鈥淗e鈥檚 definitely the future of this league, man,鈥� Knicks legend Larry Johnson said during the series when asked about Wembanyama. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a heck of a ballplayer.鈥�
Wembanyama knows the history, knows that it took some of the greatest to ever touch a ball several years to win a title.
Doesn’t mean he likes it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 painful. It鈥檚 painful,鈥� Wembanyama said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 not running away from that. I鈥檓 using it to fuel me. … I鈥檓 not satisfied with not winning. But as I said, this is the biggest lesson of my life. As a team, there鈥檚 no better experience than what we just lived.鈥�
His numbers are like almost nothing the game has ever seen before. There have been four seasons in NBA history where someone had 150 blocks, 150 assists and 100 3-pointers. Chet Holmgren did it for Oklahoma City in 2023-24, and the other three instances are all from Wembanyama 鈥� who has hit those totals in each of his first three seasons.
鈥淚 think for a lot of people, this team seems to be ahead of schedule,鈥� NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday on NBA TV. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they feel that way. I鈥檓 amazed at Victor. Not just his play on the floor, but he鈥檚 such a curious young man. He鈥檚 a pleasure to talk to. He鈥檚 very worldly. I mean, he鈥檚 got amazing interests off the floor. He鈥檚 really dedicated to his craft and he鈥檚 got such a bright future ahead of him.鈥�
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