For the symbolism, it had to be him. While the Spurs qualified for the play-offs for the first time since 2019 following their victory against the Phoenix Suns (101-100), on the night of Thursday to Friday, it was Victor Wembanyama who took things in hand to score the final victorious basket one second from the buzzer.
All in an absolutely crazy atmosphere at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, so much so that the Frenchman, who was retreating for a last defensive ball, collided with a fan who was on his way with his glass of wine in his hand, which ultimately ended up on the shorts of the Spurs star (and in the photos for posterity).
“It all happened so quickly. It was difficult to deal with all the hustle and bustle around me. The fans looked at me, a guy spilled some liquid on me, I think it was red wine, he explained after the match. I quickly sprinted on defense and crashed into a player. Then my teammates arrived quickly from everywhere, I didn’t see them coming. »
The Spurs in the play-offs, the room in meltdown
When the shot in Wemby’s racket, in a step-back against Oso Ighodaro, ended up in the net, the crowd at the Frost Bank Center literally went wild and the Frenchman found himself under a cloud of arms, wondering what had just happened to him. Because it is the first time this season that Victor Wembanyama scores the last basket of victory for his team, a gesture which takes him into another dimension, that of the very great players who change the destiny of a franchise by themselves.
“We had drawn this action,” Wembanyama said afterwards. The key is not to make things too complicated. And to wait so as not to offer one last attack ball to the opponent. Wait until one or two seconds from the end, to give yourself the possibility of an offensive rebound in the event of a failure, but not a counter-attack ball. It’s a shot that I’ve been working on with my coaches for six years, it’s not new and we repeat it throughout the season. »
This new XXL performance will be beneficial to him in his stated quest for the title of MVP, he who is launched at the end of the season in a duel with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Canadian leader of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the first franchise to qualify for the play-offs on Tuesday.
The Spurs have returned to these heights for the first time since 2019. But the French star remained measured before playing in the play-offs for the first time. “Obviously, we are proud and happy to be there. But for me, the main thing is to try not to worry about it, because we want to approach the 82 games of the regular season with ambition, he explained, insisting: “I don’t want to rest on our laurels”.
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