Will Victor Wembanyama Stay Patient With the Spurs? Here’s the Real Answer

On Tuesday, in the middle of the day, NBA Twitter went wild, as it often does. The catalyst this time around was an ESPN NBA Today segment from the day before in which Malika Andrews, Ramona Shelburne and Kendrick Perkins speculated about how long Victor Wembanyama will stay patient with the San Antonio Spurs and losing in the quest to build a contender around him.

Despite the visceral reaction to such speculation from a lot of people on social media — which I get — this isn’t entirely out of left field. Wembanyama is a lot of things: a once-in-a-lifetime phenom, a fierce competitor, a generational physical presence. But he is also a player who has clearly established his brand and is self-aware enough to guide his career arc. His interviews pre-draft were focused on immediate success. He is not just “happy to be here.”

So if his management, or camp, or whoever inform Shelburne that he is eager to compete and not waste time, it’s her job to share that information with the audience. It’s truthful and transparent.

But at the same time, we can ignore this in terms of a “what does it mean” standpoint. For starters, Wembanyama is under contract for the next four seasons, and then will accept the max extension he’ll be offered as every other player has done. No max-offer player has turned down the rookie extension; it’s too much guaranteed money, the first that really sets you up for the rest of your life.

“But what if he does?!” people who just happen to wear Lakers jerseys and Yankees caps will ask.

He won’t. There’s a reason it literally has not happened before.

Second, while the Spurs put an absolutely miserable team around Wembanyama this season and then decided not to even start him at center or with a point guard, just to see how it went, they pivoted. At the trade deadline, league sources made it clear that the Spurs were shopping for major upgrades to win now. There’s a reason they were involved in talks for Dejounte Murray and why they are rumored as a Trae Young destination this summer.

Finally, Wembanyama’s position may not change in terms of exuding that pressure to win now that he feels, but he is also smart enough to recognize he’s not ready to win. He’s still out of position on plays. He still gets bumped easily from his spots by larger centers. He still has an inconsistent jump shot and a high turnover rate. They can move towards winning, and San Antonio will, but they’re not ready to compete for a title yet with Wembanyama.

But his attitude does show one thing: he’s focused on keeping the main thing the main thing and with his talent, that usually leads to more playoff success than not.

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