He picked up right where he left off. For Victor Wembanyama's sake, it's a good thing we're not talking about him. While Wemby was coming off perhaps the worst outing of his young NBA career, Devin Vassell teamed with this past June's top overall pick to lead the San Antonio Spurs in their hard-fought 117-110 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in both teams' in-season tournament opener.
Devin Vassell is Spurs' leading scorer when all's equal
Friday's fourth straight loss not only doubled as the Spurs' first game on an alternate court that honors the city's hosting of the 1968 World's Fair and the debut of their Nike NBA City Edition uniforms inspired by the same event. It also marked Vassell's return to the starting lineup.
After missing games against the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers (not coincidentally, the start of the Spurs skid) with injury, Vassell came off the bench and played just 12 minutes—none in the second half—during Wednesday's loss at the New York Knicks. Before suffering what the team has called a mild groin injury in the first half of a November 2nd victory at the Phoenix Suns, the fourth-year pro out of Florida State had scored 17 points in 17 minutes in an eventual 132-121 Spurs victory.
At the time of his exit with approximately a minute left in the second quarter of that game, Vassell led the team in scoring — as he did with 23 points in the season opener, 25 points the next time out and 14 points in a 123-83 rout at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers. Add an 18-point performance in the first of back-to-back wins in Phoenix, and Vassell's 19.4 points per game led San Antonio for the season at the time of his exit from that first Suns game.
Vassell poured in 29 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 6-of-11 from three-point range, during Friday night's loss to the Timberwolves. It marked the fifth time in the six games he's started and finished that the No. 11 overall pick of the 2020 draft led or shared the team lead in scoring.
Victor Wembanyama as San Antonio's second option?
The notion of Wembanyama as second fiddle seems silly. Beyond the extraordinary skills for a player his height, he's leading the 3-6 Spurs in points overall. It won't be long —maybe even later this season — before the generational talent takes the next step toward a the prime of a career that comes with almost unprecedented anticipation. But until then, Wemby is at his most effective when Vassell is at full speed.
Wembanyama's astounding performance in the fourth quarter of the aforementioned second win in Phoenix notwithstanding, the 7'4 marvel has fared better when defenses have had to worry about Vassell. His 21 points in the first win of his NBA career came on the same night Vassell scored 25 to beat the Houston Rockets and his 18 against the Suns on Halloween tied Vassell for second behind Keldon Johnson.
Without Vassell, Wemby didn't see the ball much of the second half vs. the Toronto and scored 13 points in Indianapolis. With Vassell in a limited role off the bench on Wednesday, Wembanyama tallied just 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting while throwing up a couple of air balls in his highly anticipated Madison Square Garden debut.
With Vassell back against the T'Wolves Friday, Wemby matched his 6'5 teammate with a team-high 29 points. Perhaps, it's as symbolic as it is statistical. Deciphering who's ‘one' and who's ‘two' on the Spurs may not be so easy…for the moment.
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