The Spurs' season has been over for almost a week now, so we've heard a lot about what Victor Wembanyama should or shouldn't be doing over the summer. Some of it is obvious stuff, like telling a slender player he needs to add more muscle after only his third season in the league. Others demand that he add a new tool to his game, namely, the development of a post game.
While I agree with those things, I believe they were already on the way. Wembanyama has already proven that he won't be satisfied with stagnation. Growth in all areas should be expected from a great young player, doubly for a transcendent one.
However, in our unwavering need to look forward and project, we forgot to acknowledge that Wembanyama was already the best player in the playoffs this season without those things.
The Spurs win the title this year if Wembanyama doesn't get fatigued
You have to take out the two nights that The Alien left competition early to truly see what Wemby posted in his first postseason: 26 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 assists per game. The counting stats are impressive enough, but then factor in his game-breaking defense that no other star comes close to. Unfortunately, as Markieff Morris said, Wemby emptied his 7'4" tank.
"He ran out of gas, that's all that was."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 17, 2026
Markieff Morris joined First Take to share his thoughts on Wemby's performance in his first NBA Finals 🏆 pic.twitter.com/7k1PhN2QiA
At the end of the day, the body has limits; when it reaches them, that's it. As a young kid in such a large frame who has never played 100 games, with the last 20 of them being at playoff intensity, it's a lot to handle. He's asked to do so much on the floor on both sides, and it caught up to him. But that doesn't mean we have to forget what we all saw him doing before that fatigue hit.
Remember how much easier it was for teams to score when Vic was on the bench, but most couldn't generate enough momentum for it to mean much when he returned. Portland only reached 100 points once in the four games that the 8'0" wingspan-possessing demon started and finished.
The Timberwolves also struggled around that threshold, failing to reach 105 in three of the six games and only exceeding 110 points once. Anthony Edwards is on the record admitting that Wembanyama's impact on the defensive end was so restraining that it made San Antonio "hard to beat."
Most believed that Oklahoma City would solve the riddle, but the two-time MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, had just as much trouble as everyone else, and the Thunder's offense struggled because of it. Had it not been for some Alex Caruso heroics, that series may have ended much quicker.
We've seen Wembanyama add significant tools to his arsenal in the short time he's been in the league, and he'll undoubtedly add more, but not having them right now isn't why they lost the NBA Finals. They lost because they were an inexperienced, young team, and their generational talent ran out of gas. Though like his skill set, his conditioning will also improve. It's as simple as that.
