Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs are headed for another losing season. Their record is the worst in the Western Conference, with 10 wins and 40 losses. Only the Washington Wizards (9-40) and the Detroit Pistons (6-43) have worse records than the Spurs.
The veteran coach and his staff have begun to turn their attention to the 2024 NBA Draft, which is likely to have the No. 1 pick for the second consecutive year.
The arrival of Victor Wembanyama as the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft brings a lot of excitement to Spurs fans, as the French big man is considered a generational talent and a future face of the league.
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Things are not going in the best direction for the team, but Gregg Popovich urged patience and explained why this will be a long process for San Antonio. He also cited Michael Jordan and defending champion Nikola Jokic as examples. The Hall of Fame coach told French newspaper L’Equipe via NBA Reddit:
“You know, people’s opinions… they don’t know, they don’t understand. When they see us drafting a guy like Victor, everybody knows he’s talented. It’s not just about talent. . Michael Jordan’s first championship was in his seventh year. Nikola Jokic just won his first ring, which took him eight years.
“We have every right to hope that things will move faster with Victor, but you can’t skip stages.”
I’ve added:
“Building a team takes time. If it were that easy, there would be a different champion every year. We have had the same organization for the past two decades. Our cycle of success is long, more than three decades. At some point, you have to start from scratch. That’s where we are today.”
Gregg Popovich will remain with the San Antonio Spurs for a few more years after signing a five-year contract extension in 2023.
Gregg Popovich says Spurs need to ‘watch’ to see how Victor Wembanyama performs on the court
Victor Wembunyama had a solid rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs but still has plenty of room for improvement.
Five-time champion Gregg Popovich discussed the difficulty of scouting the French big man before he arrived in San Antonio and how many “observation” periods it would take for the team to understand his abilities on the court. He said:
“He does everything and that’s what I expect from him. He wants to do it and has the ability. This observation is necessary. We don’t know much about him yet. Video highlights are not enough. We need twenty games or more Thirty games to see where he feels most comfortable and what things are clearly going right.
“He has to adapt to the brutality of the game because he has a target on his back and everyone wants to physically attack him.”
Victor Wembanyama played in 44 of the Spurs’ first 50 games, averaging 20.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.1 blocks per game. He is the frontrunner to win Rookie of the Year.