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Gregg Popovich has been accused of many things. Extravagant tipping at restaurants. Outspoken political views. And above all, being an expert at the craft of professional basketball coaching. Now he has drafted a player in Victor Wembanyama, a universally agreed upon generational talent, that checks so many of Popovich's boxes that the question has to be asked… Have the last few seasons been one long con for Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs to ultimately get to this moment and draft the next perfect fit for their illustrious franchise?
Let's take a look at the evidence. For starters, Victor Wembanyama is a foreign superstar. The Spurs and Gregg Popovich have collectively discovered more international talent than Simon Cowell. (Sticking with this metaphor, Manu Ginóbili would have to be the Susan Boyle of the NBA, but that's a topic for another day). And Wembanyama's not just any foreign superstar, he's a French foreign superstar. That wasn't even a thing in the NBA until the Spurs drafted Tony Parker and Boris Diaw, who collectively won five championships with the team.
Secondly, Victor Wembanyama is a first overall pick. The Spurs famously made David Robinson and Tim Duncan two of the most successful number one picks in NBA history, with Robinson winning an M.V.P. Award and two championships for San Antonio, and Duncan winning two M.V.P. Awards and five championships.
Finally, Victor Wembanyama is a big man! So were David Robinson and Tim Duncan. The Spurs and Pop love centering their team around a dominant big man. And a French superstar. And a number one draft pick. Do you see what I'm getting at? I'm not suggesting Gregg Popovich invented a cloning machine that could take his favorite elements from his favorite players of all time and combine all their attributes into one generational super-talent but… if he could, wouldn't Victor Wembanyama have come out of that machine?
Perhaps you're not convinced. Well then let's just look at what the Spurs have been up to the last few seasons. After spending the years between 1998 and 2019 setting the NBA record for most consecutive playoff appearances in a row — 22 seasons! — the Spurs have spent the last four seasons utterly bottoming out, getting themselves closer and closer to the celler of the standings. That coincides with Wembanyama's precipitous rise up prospect draft boards so precisely it's like watching the Dark Side of the Rainbow.
Also, it was hard not to notice that the ultra-competitive Gregg Popovich has seemed to get a lot less angry at his players the last few seasons, even as their immaturity and tendency to make careless turnovers and silly mistakes has grown exponentially. Sure, Pop's beard has grown a little whiter, but I thought perhaps he was just getting mellower with age. But maybe he was simply swallowing his simmering rage just long enough to get back to his office after games, put on some headphones and unwind on his phone not with the Calm or Mindfulness apps, but rather with highlight footage of Victor Wembanyama from LNB basketball games. If you look carefully at Pop footage from the sideline this season, you can almost hear him mouth the mantra “It's all going to be okay… Victor is coming” as he watches his ragtag bunch embarrass themselves on a nightly basis.
Finally, the long con built to this season, this moment, where the San Antonio Spurs finished with the second to worst record in the league, got a little luck in the NBA draft lottery, and wound up with the first overall pick. A pick that was pre-destined to go to a team tailor made for him. Victor Wembanyama might be unlike any player the league has ever seen, yet he also somehow fits the mold of the prototypical San Antonio Spur. It makes almost too much sense then why Gregg Popovich didn't choose to retire after the Spurs great playoff run was over. The wheels in his NBA mastermind were already spinning, as he planned the next great league takeover. No other player drafted over the last four seasons has proven himself worth tanking for, so Popovich just let his Spurs slip lower and lower until there finally was one. Now we get to see just how well Pop's long con will pay off.
