Wembanyama limited in debut by foul trouble
Published
No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama headed to the bench early in the third quarter of his NBA debut Wednesday against the Dallas Mavericks after picking up his fourth foul.
The San Antonio Spurs' phenom was whistled for two fouls in the opening half and picked up another quick two within the first four minutes of the third, sending him to the bench for what figures to be a significant percentage of the second half.
The 19-year-old had six points on 2-of-4 shooting with four rebounds and two assists in 15:41 before checking out.
His first NBA basket came on a three-pointer at the top of the circle off a feed from Devin Vassell. He then converted on a second three later in the second quarter. He also made his mark felt on the defensive end, swatting away Kyrie Irving's shot on Dallas' opening offensive possession.
The Le Chesnay, France, native comes into the NBA as the most hyped prospect since LeBron James in 2003 and possibly the most anticipated in league history.
"Victor’s had a lot of attention pointed toward him for a very long time and that’s not going to change. Fortunately for us, he’s a really mature, prioritized young man that knows what he wants. He’s already a pro," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said of his young star.
Wembanyama averaged 19.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in just over 20 minutes a night during four pre-season games. He also averaged 2.8 blocks per game and shot over 50 per cent from the field.
He averaged 21.6 points and 10.4 rebounds playing in France last season.