San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama is getting his wish to play more minutes, and it's not coming as naturally as he might've thought.

“With my minutes increasing, I think I need a little bit of time to adapt to it. I was kind of struggling in the game, but at the end of the game, I think I played maybe the last five, six minutes of the game,” Wemby told ClutchPoints, not realizing in the moment that he played the entire fourth quarter of Thursday's 132-118 victory vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Tuesday's Rodeo Road Trip-ending loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, it marked the second straight game in which the French phenom played all 12 minutes of the final period. In four of his last five games, Wembanyama has played more than 30 minutes. It's a stretch that comes after the Spurs leading scorer averaged between 25-28 minutes per game for two months because of minutes restrictions put in place after a couple of ankle injuries.

For that very reason, Wemby didn't want to ask out of a game that nearly produced his third NBA triple-double with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists.

“I hesitated to request a sub, but I told myself to just lock in and get over it because eventually, I’m going to have to play those minutes. So, I just stayed on the court and worked my [butt] off. This is how I was feeling. I had to get over the struggles.”

They are struggles that turned into a rare triumph for the now 12-48 Spurs.