Victor Wembanyama is having a historic rookie season, as the phenom NBA No. 1 overall pick has more than lived up to the hype. Unfortunately for the big man, the Spurs are mired in last place in the Western Conference. This, of course, is mostly by design — San Antonio is rebuilding and doesn’t want to skip any steps building around its new face of the franchise. As much as he despises losing, Wembanyama has expressed that he’ll be patient with the Spurs because he understands this is an extended process.
But don’t tell that to ESPN’s bizarre NBA coverage of the young superstar.
On Monday evening, ESPN’s NBA studio panel implied that Wembanyama won’t be patient with the Spurs forever and that he doesn’t like sitting at the bottom of the standings. In a vacuum, yes, that is technically true. He will want to play for a winner, a championship contender even, but … eventually. For the time being, there has been nothing about Wembanyama’s approach that suggests he’s already getting antsy with San Antonio’s front office.
Because guess what: He’s 20 years old and hasn’t even finished his rookie season yet! C’mon.
Saying Wembanyama doesn’t like losing is very different from saying he’s unhappy with the Spurs. It’s an overdramatic leap to a conclusion that feels manufactured for needless drama. It’s trying to make correlation equal causation.
For what it’s worth, here’s Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News sharing his thoughts on the matter:
My suggestion to national NBA platforms regarding Wembanyama moving forward would be rather simple.
Focus on his individual brilliance right now and the promise he will likely bring as the leader of a solid team in the future. Not everyone has to be telegraphed onto the Los Angeles Lakers, especially when such a reality is so baseless. News flash: Other NBA markets are allowed to have great players and teams, and that’s actually better for the league’s long-term health! (Never mind that in Gregg Popovich, San Antonio has one of the greatest coaches of all time who won so many games with the Spurs for over two decades when they previously had uber-talented players.)
Better yet, the current NBA regular season is in the middle of an exciting stretch run, particularly in the Western Conference, where it looks like the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves are in a dead heat for the No. 1 seed.
Put another way: There are a lot of compelling league storylines with tangible meat and intrigue on the bone that could use this oxygen.
Do literally anything but try to drive a wedge of tension between an amazingly talented player and his rebuilding small-market team before he finishes one season in the league. To say this was unnecessary would be an understatement.
