The San Antonio Spurs enter the third NBA season for Victor Wenbanyama, surrounded by many mysteries, but at least one expert is running to make a lot of noise in the coming months.
Victor Wenbanyama was cleared to start on time with the San Antonio Spurs after missing a blood clot over the second half of last season.
Wenbanyama is expected to quickly dominate as a clear top-10 player in the league, but the Spurs are still a team with more questions than the answer.
Can De’aaron Fox be reverted to form? How does the Spurs manage three point guards? Is Carter Bryant ready to contribute immediately? Does the team have enough star power to compete in the West?
All of these questions have not been answered yet, but the Spurs are urged not to worry.
Last season, Wenbanyama broke out as easily as the best defender in the league and became himself as one of the more versatile goal scorers. He is expected to take the next step as he is a general outlook for a reason, touted as “extraterrestrial” and with an All-Star Point Guard next to him.
As expected, the Spurs title hopes to start and end with him. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps recently ranked 14 teams that missed the 2025 playoffs, putting the Spurs in their best position.
“Two words: Victor Wembanyama,” Bontemps offered. “If your team has Victor Wenbanyama, you have a chance to win the championship. That’s what this was all about. How close is it to winning the title?”
The fit with Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper and Fox is rocky to begin with, but there’s no doubt that Spurs have added talent around Wenbanyama in recent years.
“This guy here is an alien,” continued Bontemps. “He has a chance to become the best player on the planet.”
With a balanced cast of facilitators around him, the Spurs could either take fourth in the West or hold them back in a crowded meeting with young people, leaving them completely missing out on the playoffs.
As Bontemps revealed, Wembanyama was able to become the best player in the world sooner than later.
But for now, the best players on the planet are in the west: Shay Gilgauss Alexander and Nikola Jokic.
Behind it is the well-balanced Houston Rocket with the Los Angeles Lakers led by Luka Donsic. The Spurs look like one or two layers under those candidates, but they certainly are rising.
It’s time for the Spurs to step into the gas and try to compete for the postseason rather than the draft pick, but the title window may not be open yet.
That said, Wenbanyama and Fox shared a courtroom that only had five games last season. As far as we know, they could possibly appear as the best duo in the league. Everything remains unseen, but it’s only a matter of time before the “aliens” lands.