Victor Wembanyama endured the worst shooting night of his young career on opening night, going 1-for-13 from the floor as the San Antonio Spurs fell 116-104 to the Oklahoma City Thunder — and the French star admitted he “might be overthinking it.”
Victor Wembanyama (Credits: ESPN)
The 7-foot-4 star missed his first 12 field-goal attempts, failing to score a basket until the dying seconds of the third quarter, when he finally converted an alley-oop dunk off a De’Aaron Fox lob. Per Elias Sports Bureau, the 0-for-12 start tied for the second-most misses to begin a season opener in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98).
Free Throws and Blocks Kept Him Afloat
Wembanyama salvaged something from the wreckage: he still posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, scoring 10 of his 12 points at the free-throw line (10-of-12) and swatting six blocks at the other end. The Thunder’s bruising defensive scheme — led by Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Aday Mara — surrounded him relentlessly, and coach Mark Daigneault praised his team’s disciplined balance in handling the league’s most unguardable player.
For context, this was a complete outlier. Wembanyama never had a single game last season with fewer than three made field goals, and he averaged 18.4 points on 52.4% shooting against the Thunder last regular season — plus 27.3 points in the Western Conference finals series.
“Everybody Struggled Pretty Equally”
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson refused to pin the loss on his star. “I think everybody struggled pretty equally,” he said. “I know his field goal percentage will stand out, but we all participated in that one.” San Antonio shot just 29% in the first half and trailed by 26, and Stephon Castle’s team-high 24 points wasn’t enough to rescue them.
One game, one bad shooting night — but after the Spurs took eight of 12 meetings with OKC last season, the Thunder’s defense just sent a reminder of who they are.
Also Read: Thunder Have Holmgren’s Back: Fox’s Flagrant Shove Ignites Scuffle in Chippy Win Over Spurs
Source: ESPN — read the full story there.
