It's the news leading up to news, but they're words San Antonio Spurs fans long to hear regarding Victor Wembanyama.
“Perhaps after that,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, alluding to the Jan. 24 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
That answer came from a question about whether his superstar's restricted minutes would be lifted by the team's next game, which comes Monday in Philadelphia.
“I don't think so. Not by next game,” the Hall of Fame coach responded about whether Wemby would play more than the nearly 28 minutes he clocked in Saturday's 131-127 win at the Washington Wizards.
Victor Wembanyama making his was way off minutes restriction
It should be noted that Popovich added that he wasn't “sure” about whether he 20-year-old sensation's playing time will indeed increase following the Spurs' contest at the Philadelphia 76ers. Either way, the moment marking Wembanyama's return to his regular minutes per game appears to be nearing.
“Hopefully, I can play every game from now on so it shouldn't be any issue anymore, but it's definitely something I've got to watch,” the French superstar said following a game-high 24 points in the nation's capital.
Wemby also blocked six shots while officially notching 28 minutes in Washington, continuing an extended stretch of impressive play.
Since a Dec. 28 victory at the Portland Trail Blazers, the Spurs' generational prospect has lived up to that label with at least 20 points in all but one of the 10 games he has played (he scored 16 in a blowout win at Detroit that was well in hand throughout the fourth quarter), despite not having played more than 27 minutes in any of those contests before Saturday. Three times during that span he logged more points than minutes, including the aforementioned 130-122 win at Portland in which he scored 30 in 24 minutes. In a loss vs. the best team in the NBA, Wembanyama put up 27 points in 27 minutes at the Boston Celtics.
Wemby's extended time on Spurs' ‘restriction list'
It has been more than a month since the Spurs started limiting Wemby's time on the court.
Following a game in which he played 31 minutes (which was right around his average per outing before the minutes restriction) vs. the New Orleans Pelicans, the Spurs held the 7'4 marvel out of a game in Milwaukee with a sore right ankle.
Four days later, Wembanyama aggravated that same ankle in what has since become that infamous moment when he stepped on a Dallas Mavericks ball boy's foot. In being held out that night, it started a plan in which Wembanyama would play 24 to 25 minutes per game and wouldn't take part in any games that occurred on back-to-back nights.
Though those minutes per game have gradually increased, it's something the rookie sensation still isn't used to.
“Two days without playing feels like a week. My body is changing. It's adapting to rhythm,” Wembanyama said after returning to action following a DNP the night before in Charlotte.
Should the top overall pick in this past summer's draft go off his minutes restriction in the Spurs' next game after Monday, it would happen in an anticipated matchup vs. his biggest threat in the Rookie of the Year competition, Chet Holmgren.
Follow Us
Subscribe