Hector Ledesma Articles - Page 9

In what’s becoming old hat for y0ung Victor Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs superstar continues to establish statistical firsts. In scoring 30 points and blocking 10 shots in a recent win vs. the Portland Trail Blazers, the 7-foot-5 center became the youngest player to register those numbers in a game. That same night, he became […]

It’s hard to miss San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan on the court. The 2022 ninth-overall draft pick’s hair is colored bright green. This is the time of the year that lends itself to a certain fabled Christmas-themed character. “Grinch kind of vibes,” the 21-year-old said. “I think I’m going to keep it like this.” […]

Victor Wembanyama scored 42 points, blocked four shots, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Atlanta Hawks 133-126 in overtime on Thursday. The reigning Rookie of the Year accounted for his team’s first eight points of the extra period after scoring 10 in a back-and-forth fourth […]

Though Keldon Johnson was out for ten days with a left calf strain, he missed just two games in that time frame. Fortunately for Johnson, the San Antonio Spurs schedule featured only a pair of contests during that span. It’s especially comforting for Johnson considering his time out came as a result of a dreaded […]

San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones, who started for most of last season, is expected to return for the Spurs’ next game against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night. Once Jones returns to the Spurs lineup, it’ll mark just the ninth game he’ll play this season. “It’s been tough to be out this much. I’ve […]

A day after San Antonio Spurs legendary coach Gregg Popovich released a statement for the first time since suffering a mild stroke in early November, two of his players, Jeremy Sochan and Stephon Castle, reacted accordingly. Sochan’s response was, well, Sochan-like, complete with curse words, while Castle’s answer featured a more standard tone – the […]

Less than a week after – and in their first outing since – Victor Wembanyama hit a last-minute three-pointer to win a game, the San Antonio Spurs turned to their generational talent late in Friday’s game at the Portland Trail Blazers. Again, he delivered. “I came to the bench when it was a tied game […]

Down 17 points with 8:29 remaining in the game and without veteran point guard Chris Paul and standout rookie Stephon Castle, the San Antonio Spurs were dead in the water against the Portland Trail Blazers. That is, to everyone except Victor Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and the rest of the shorthanded Silver and Black. […]

Victor Wembanyama is in the midst of another first. Unlike just about every other one the San Antonio Spurs center has experienced though, this is one he’d rather do without. “It’s something different than I’ve experienced before in my career,” Wembanyama said following the Silver and Black’s most recent game. The NBA’s first ever Western […]

With just under 0:40 remaining in the San Antonio Spurs’ most recent game, the team was down by two to the New Orleans Pelicans. As they came up the court, Victor Wembanyama trailed the ball-handling Chris Paul. In a surprise to no one, the future Hall-of-Fame point guard flipped the ball back to his uniquely […]

With his third assist on Sunday evening, Chris Paul passed Jason Kidd for second in NBA career assists. It came on a pass to Victor Wembanyama for a three-pointer in the second quarter of a 121-116 San Antonio Spurs victory vs. the New Orleans Pelicans. Spurs just honored Chris Paul for climbing to #2 on […]

While there’s no doubt that Victor Wembanyama is the San Antonio Spurs’ best player, it’s perhaps just slightly less obvious that Devin Vassell ranks as their second-best. Chris Paul, who’s got the age advantage over both, has enjoyed a better career than either, and rookie Stephon Castle may have a bigger upside than Vassell. Still, […]

The San Antonio Spurs haven’t been strangers to losing over the last couple of years. But, despite back-to-back 60-loss seasons, the newly acquired Chris Paul says this team can’t get comfortable with such a reality. “You don’t want to get used to this losing stuff.” The 39-year-old point guard preceded that by spelling out a […]

Just two nights after Mitch Johnson praised the San Antonio Spurs defense for the reason they stayed in a game at the Phoenix Suns, the acting head coach found no shortage of ways to criticize his team’s efforts – sans Victor Wembanyama – on that side of the floor in a loss to the Chicago […]

In missing a chance to win their group in the Emirates NBA Cup and advance to what essentially serves as the playoffs of the league’s in-season tournament, the San Antonio Spurs hit just eight of the 44 three-pointers they took in shooting 35% overall vs. the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. However, because the Silver and […]

In what may have been the San Antonio Spurs biggest game in several years, the proud franchise came up short of winning its group in the NBA Cup. Afterward, Chris Paul, who’s been in many a big game over his 20 NBA seasons, sounded like a player who realized what had just eluded his new […]

A year after losing every one of their games in the NBA Cup, the San Antonio Spurs are on the verge of winning their group. Beat the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday and the Silver and Black will claim the West’s Group B. It’s that simple. They can still advance to the knockout stage of the […]

San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan is listed as “probable” on the team’s injury report released on the eve of their match-up vs. the Phoenix Suns, via Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. It’s notable considering Sochan hasn’t played since November 4 and could boost a Spurs that, led by Victor Wembanyama, has been […]

In yet another sign that the San Antonio Spurs are vastly improving, they’re now winning games in which they didn’t play well. Normally the type of trait reserved for playoff squads, if not title contenders. Still, acting head coach Mitch Johnson didn’t like how his team started in Sunday’s victory vs. the Sacramento Kings. San […]

Victor Wembanyama scored 34 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and dished out 11 assists in the San Antonio Spurs 127-125 victory at the Sacramento Kings, which serves as the third triple-double of his young career. It also marks a fifth win in the last six games for the Silver and Black, who now stand at 11-9. […]

Had you told San Antonio Spurs management when they were looking to trade for Harrison Barnes this summer that he’d win Western Conference Player of the Week to cap the first month of the season, they might not have believed you. Make no mistake, they’d take it and they obviously thought he’d contribute, but their […]

When Victor Wembanyama says your maturity impresses him, it’s time to take a bow. San Antonio Spurs rookie Stephon Castle might be that special. One thing’s for certain right now. His play down the stretch of close games for the Silver and Black has won has been special. “I’ve said many times, he’s playing like […]

The San Antonio Spurs famously – perhaps infamously – cautious approach to player injuries has carried over to superstar Victor Wembanyama. For the better part of a Rookie of the Year season, the franchise capped the number of minutes he’d play per game. Oftentimes, coach Gregg Popovich didn’t allow Wemby to suit up on the […]

Victor Wembanyama scored nearly half of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter as the San Antonio Spurs erased a 17-point late third-quarter deficit to beat Stephen Curry and a Golden State Warriors team that sits atop the Western Conference 104-94. In his first game back after missing three straight with a knee contusion, the […]

As the San Antonio Spurs forge forward without Hall-of-Famer Gregg Popovich, they do so with his presence very much in mind. Veteran forward Harrison Barnes, acquired this summer via trade, hasn’t played many games for the winningest coach in NBA history. That doesn’t mean the magnitude of not having one of the greatest of all-time […]

Even without Victor Wembanyama on the court, the San Antonio Spurs know where they want the ball to start the crucial possessions of a close game. In Chris Paul’s hands. On Tuesday as the Oklahoma City Thunder mounted a fourth quarter rally from 20 point deficit, the Silver and Black managed to keep one of […]

A home game vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder represented Mitch Johnson’s 10th game as the San Antonio Spurs acting head coach. Some of these contests have featured fantastic individual performances, like Victor Wembanyama’s 50-point outburst, and blowouts against good teams, like a 20-point showing against the Sacramento Kings. Perhaps though, none were as satisfying as […]

San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes has made the playoffs in five of his 12 full seasons in the NBA, including two trips to the Finals, a championship and a berth two years ago. At 32 years old, the former Golden State Warrior, Dallas Maverick and Sacramento King is an old man on a Spurs […]

As San Antonio Spurs legendary coach Gregg Popovich continues to recover from a mild stroke suffered near the beginning of this month, his backup point guard, Tre Jones, is sure to compliment the soon-to-be 38-year-old Mitch Johnson. “Mitch is trying to just allow us to play real confident and with a lot of freedom. He’s […]

It appears San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama will be back in the line-up sooner rather than later. In missing Saturday night’s game at the Dallas Mavericks with an injury the Spurs listed as a right knee contusion, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson says Wemby’s status is “day to day.” Johnson, who’s leading the team while […]

Another first for Victor Wembanyama. However, the San Antonio Spurs star wants to make sure it doesn’t have the magical feeling of a first for very long. If nothing else, it certainly appears it won’t be the last. Coming off the first 50-point game of his career, Wemby quickly looked ahead. “My first thought is […]

For a second straight game, San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama enjoyed a career night from three-point range. Two days after hitting a personal NBA high six shots from beyond the arc, the generational talent equaled that feat in a 20-point win vs. the Sacramento Kings. “A change for sure is that I’m taking less […]

Given the presence of Victor Wembanyama and with the additions of Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, it was easy to forget — especially from a national perspective — that the San Antonio Spurs started this season without last year’s second-leading scorer, Devin Vassell. After scoring 21 points off the bench in his season debut, the […]

San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama is not new to firsts. A trend prevalent though a unanimous Rookie of the Year campaign continued vs. the Utah Jazz. In becoming the only player in NBA history to have multiple games with 20+ points, 15+ rebounds, 5+ three-pointers, and 5+ blocks, Wemby hit a career high six […]

Immediately after the final buzzer sounded in the San Antonio Spurs 106-101 loss to the Houston Rockets Fred VanVleet confronted Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan and words were exchanged. Fred Van VanVleet had some words for Jeremy Sochan after the gamepic.twitter.com/YFtOSWOCCU — Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) October 29, 2024 Asked about the exchange after the […]

The San Antonio Spurs open the new year with perhaps more questions than most teams. Much of it centers on superstar Victor Wembanyama. In Wemby, the Silver and Black feature the best young prospect turned the best young player the NBA has seen in years. While there’s little doubt that he’ll rank among the league’s […]

Following one of the San Antonio Spurs’ final preseason practices, Gregg Popovich provided some encouraging news regarding Devin Vassell, the player who may very well be his second best player right now — even with Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes now in the mix. “No contact yet, but we’re still hopeful that at the beginning […]

In trading for a 2031 second round pick from the Sacramento Kings while also taking in a player they immediately released, the San Antonio Spurs showed they’re still very much on course to continue a track that’s been in place with Victor Wembanyama in the mix. After acquiring Jalen McDaniels and cash considerations in the […]

San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama hasn’t played in two of the team’s preseason contests ahead of the 2024-25 NBA campaign. Perhaps representative of the stark difference from this time last year, Wemby’s absence on Saturday night against the Utah Jazz came five nights after he missed the exhibition opener vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder. […]