One down, eight to go. The San Antonio Spurs started their annual Rodeo Road Trip Wednesday night with a 116-104 loss to the Miami Heat. The grueling trip which won't have the Silver and Black play another home game until Feb. 29 also represents a chance for Victor Wembanyama to bond with his teammates.

“Road games are a different experience. This is also some time we get for team activities. Last time, I think it was in Detroit, we went bowling,” Wemby recalled to ClutchPoints about a previous road trip this season.

“It's cool. I guess it's also a real test for a team. It's an occasion to bond. It's also a good test for a team,” the 20-year-old rookie continued.

The 2024 San Antonio Spurs Rodeo Road Trip

The Spurs' 22nd Rodeo Road Trip consists of eight more cities, continuing on Thursday vs. the Orlando Magic and ending Feb. 27 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In between, San Antonio faces the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, the Toronto Raptors on Monday and the Dallas Mavericks on Valentine's Day before the NBA All-Star break. The stretch away from home then resumes on Feb. 22 with the Sacramento Kings, the Los Angeles Lakers the next night and the Utah Jazz on Feb. 25.

“We've been on some long road trips this year already so I think they kind of got a little bit of a warm up and it helps that our All-Star break is in the middle or kind of splitting it a little bit, so that helps. Still, you've just got to be prepared to pack a ton and be ready to shop if you need to,” forward Doug McDemott said.

The longest-tenured Spur, Keldon Johnson is on his fifth Rodeo Road Trip.

“Take care of your bodies. I have no worries about this group. We're pretty close. So, I feel like we'll probably be doing everything together while we're on the road and enjoying each other and things like that,” the 24-year-old forward revealed about what's important this time of the year.

“So, I have no worries. I think we all have each other's backs. Whether it's playing a video game or going to get team dinner and things like that. I think that we will make it fly by pretty quickly.”

Victor Wembanyama's take on the Rodeo Trip

Victor Wembanyama recalls his first reaction in learning about what has become a franchise tradition.

“Of course, I was asking, ‘why is that?' The answer was pretty clear,” the rookie phenom said of initially seeing the nearly month-long stint on the schedule. “I wish I could be here to witness what's going to happen here,” Wemby said of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.

When the Spurs moved from the Alamodome to the Frost Bank Center (then SBC Center) in 2002, the agreement with Bexar County called for San Antonio's annual February rodeo to be held at the arena as well.

“It's going to be special, being away for so long. It's part of the job,” the top pick in this past summer's draft added. “Away games aren't necessarily worse, it's just different because we are with the group all the time. We're in perfect conditions to travel, so it's different.”

Wembanyama looks forward to the rest of his first Rodeo Road Trip following his first game of the 2024 edition.