Mitch Johnson didn’t dance around the obvious. Victor Wembanyama is the centerpiece of the San Antonio Spurs, but he’s not the whole picture.

After San Antonio knocked off the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup semifinal, the Spurs head coach framed the win in terms of balance, not brilliance alone. “I think we are very comfortable in recognizing Victor as the face of our franchise and the biggest piece of our puzzle,” Johnson said. “But he’s not the puzzle by himself and he doesn’t wanna be and we are a team, we’re a group.”

Wembanyama delivered in his return, but he didn’t hijack the game. He finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, making his presence felt on both ends while playing controlled minutes. His length, altered shots, his touch steadied the offense late, and his gravity opened space for others to operate.

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That “others” part mattered. The Spurs didn’t survive on isolation heroics. They moved the ball, defended in sync, and matched Oklahoma City’s pace with physicality and discipline. Against one of the league’s deepest and most confident young teams, San Antonio didn’t blink.

Johnson’s point was simple, this version of the Spurs only works if everyone buys in. Wembanyama draws the attention, but the connective tissue, the cuts, rotations, and timely shots, turn that attention into wins. It’s not a superstar experiment. It’s a team blueprint.

The Thunder tested that blueprint. They attacked early, pushed tempo, and forced decisions. San Antonio answered by trusting its structure instead of chasing matchups. San Antonio knows who its franchise player is. That part isn’t debatable. The Spurs don’t need Wembanyama to be everything. They need him to be the anchor, and for everyone else to pull their weight.

That’s when the puzzle starts to look complete.