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Former Spurs star DeRozan tells funny story about Wembanyama's impact

Look forward to a lot more of this.
Jahlil Williams
Jahlil Williams

Air Alamo

Chicago Bulls v San Antonio Spurs / Ronald Cortes/GettyImages

At this point, Spurs fans have heard DeMar DeRozan detail his feelings about his trade from Toronto to San Antonio enough to recount the details themselves. He's not shy about sharing how he felt about that situation and how much it impacted him. He wanted to stay with the Raptors for the entirety of his career, and the move came as a shock to him.

He talked about this again on the Club 520 podcast with Jeff Teague and his co-hosts, expressing how distraught he was about the whole situation until he received a call from Coach Pop. Popovich, known for his ability to connect with players, essentially told DeRozan that the Spurs traded for him; they didn't trade him away. Those words helped DeRozan understand that he was still wanted and eased his transition to the Silver and Black.

He goes into more detail about how Pop helped his game evolve, but when they shifted the topic to Victor Wembanyama, he had a funny story to tell.

Wembanyama's range is next-level scary

These are the plays that make the Spurs' faithful burst into laughter when watching the games. It's very easy to pinpoint these occurrences in real time when you watch Wemby play. Most fans have watched basketball long enough to know when a player is making a business decision to avoid the risk of embarrassment. Not to mention, it's just not smart basketball to challenge a player with the shot-blocking skill of Wembanyama without a solid plan of attack.

San Antonio hasn't had a respectable shot blocker since Tim Duncan retired, and even he didn't impact offenses like this. Over the years, they've been on the other side, challenging players at the rim when they have no business doing so.

Jaren Jackson Jr. comes to mind as a player who rejects buckets relentlessly, but the Spurs have been the culprits of reckless drives right into his lap just to see the ball thrown in the other direction. There should have been more times they pulled the ball back out then, but surely the Grizzlies players were happy they didn't. It's nice to have a guy who has that sort of impact again.

Watch the whole clip below!

Jahlil Williams

Jahlil Williams

Jahlil Williams is the Site Expert for Air Alamo, covering the San Antonio Spurs since 2023. His relentless drive and unique writing style propelled him from contributor to the leader of the Spurs-focused site in less than a year. With a Bachelor of Science in Sportscasting from the Dan Patrick School of Sportscasting at Full Sail University, Jahlil learned how to perform at a high level in every aspect of sports, from writing to production, with direction from industry professionals such as Dan Patrick and Gus Ramsey. He's added WNBA coverage to his resume in 2025, with heavy focus on the Dallas Wings as a credentialed media member.