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Andrew Lopez, ESPN
LAS VEGAS — It might not have been the show everyone expected to see, but Victor Wembanyama‘s summer league debut was a hot ticket Friday night.
Facing off against the Charlotte Hornets and No. 2 pick Brandon Miller, Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, helped the Spurs win 76-68 in front of a sellout crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center.
“It was a special moment,” Wembanyama said in a packed news conference room following his performance. “It was really special to wear that jersey for the first time. It’s really an honor.
“Overall, I’m glad we won this game. There’s no better way to start for your premiere. Honestly, I didn’t really know what I was doing on the court tonight. I’m trying to learn for next game.”
While the rest of the Spurs’ summer league squad played two games in the California Classic in Sacramento, Wembanyama stayed in San Antonio. He said he worked out during that time with some of the players already on the roster.
With only three practices with his summer league teammates, Wembanyama admitted he still has much to learn.
“I think the biggest improvement I’ve got to do is being ready and being ready to react to the plays called by the point guard and staying connected,” he said.
In just over 27 minutes, Wembanyama finished with nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and five blocks while going 2-of-13 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. He missed his first five 3-point attempts but drew a rousing ovation when his sixth attempt fell with 2:50 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Every time Wembanyama checked out, he looked fatigued. He said he is going to have to improve his fitness to get ready for an 82-game season.
“I think there’s a lot of conditioning to do,” Wembanyama said. “Especially with our play style, we run a lot. It’s really exhausting. Even though it was 40 minutes tonight, when I subbed out, I was always tired and exhausted. So I think there’s a lot of conditioning to do.”
Spurs assistant coach Matt Nielsen, who is the head coach for summer league, said the team was gauging Wembanyama’s minutes based on how he looked on the court. He said there were times Wembanyama had a bunch of energy and times when the game took a toll on him.
“It was a pretty physical game, so I thought he did a really good job of fighting through that stuff,” Nielsen said.
Many of Wembanyama’s veteran teammates attended his debut, and he said he appreciated them traveling to watch him and his summer league teammates play.
“There’s a really good dynamic with this group,” Wembanyama said. “It’s not every team who will have almost the whole team on the sideline like this. Of course they were all supportive. They gave me advice. They trust me, and they believe in me.”
Wembanyama, who was listed as a forward on the roster, played the power forward and center spots.
There were times when he drew a defensive matchup against the 6-foot-9 Miller, including once in the second quarter when he blocked Miller’s 3-point attempt.
The Thomas & Mack Center sold all 17,500 tickets for the night, only the second time the venue has been sold out the day before a summer league game. The other time was for Zion Williamson‘s debut in 2019.
Fans filled up the arena hours before the Spurs and Hornets tipped off. Since summer league is general admission, fans who wanted to sit up close had to get in as soon as the doors opened at 12:30 p.m.
By 3 p.m. local time, three hours before the game was set to start, the entire lower bowl was filled and fans were starting to trickle into the upper deck.
In two games in the California Classic summer league, Miller averaged 12.0 points, 5.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game but also had 10 turnovers and 15 fouls.
On Friday, Miller had a team-high 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 3 steals while committing 5 fouls and 2 turnovers.