Victor Wembanyama proved his worth with 27-point performance in only his second Summer League match

Ever since he landed in the US, Victor Wembanyama has been trying to remind us all that he’s still just a kid, and he needs time to learn the ways of the NBA and settle in his team’s strategy. After his first Summer League game with the Spurs, he recieved a lot of criticism as many fans already called him a bust.

Before his second match with San Antonio, he sat down with Hall of Famers Isiah Thomas and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to talk about his present and future in the league.

“As of today, I’m just a rookie,” the French athlete reminded everyone. “I don’t have one NBA game in me. I’ve just got everything to learn. The truth was, yeah, I didn’t know what I was doing [in the NBA Summer League opener on Friday]. And for the next games, I’m probably not going to know what I’m doing, too. But it’s going to come as time goes and hopefully, we’ll be ready for the season. I’m still a kid. [I’m] just ready to learn.”

However, it only took him a second offseason match with the San Antonio team to prove his worth, as he scored a team-high 27 points with 9-for-14 shooting, a game-high 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and a steal in his squad’s defeat against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Check out Wemby’s best highlights from his second Summer League game on Sunday:

“I wish we would’ve won the game,” Wembanyama said after the contest. “Personally, it’s normal to get better every game. Two days ago was my first game. I had so much s—- going on with the draft. To me, it’s just me getting comfortable with myself and with my body.

“Before today, I had like two practices and one game. So, it’s just getting going.”

Spurs staff and teammates have already recognized the greatness in young Wembanyama, and are convinced he’s already proved himself

Teammate Blake Wesley just needed a week training alongside the French sensation to understand his potential, as he’s convinced he’ll be fundamental this upcoming NBA campaign.

“He’s amazing,” the Spurs guard said. “He’s an amazing person on and off the court. He had a rough first one as you can see. But he bounced back like he said he was. He’s gifted.”

The press is already saying that San Antonio shouldn’t play him anymore this Summer League, as he’s already ‘shut everybody up’ with his latest display:

.@craigcartonlive believes the Spurs should sit Victor Wembanyama the rest of the Summer League 😳

"If I'm the Spurs, I'm done with him in Vegas. He gave me the game I needed to get out of him to shut everybody up." pic.twitter.com/NKCr7YwDoX

— The Carton Show (@TheCartonShow) July 10, 2023

His coaching staff is also aware that this is just an offseason tournament, and its main purpose is to keep players in action during the summer as newcomers and rising talents are getting to know their teams and the league’s standards.

“It’s Summer League, and he’s got a big future, got a big season coming and all of that stuff,” said assistant coach Matt Nielsen. “But there’s no doubt there’s a lot of attention, and I’d be lying if like he didn’t probably didn’t feel some of that [in the summer league opener]. I can’t speak for him.

“But I think he showed the talent that he is and the resilience that he just stepped up and wanted to be better in the areas that we spoke about. He did a good job.”