Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says win against Wolves was their best from the Wembanyama era

This weekend, the Spurs enjoyed one of their most thrilling victories of the campaign, as they beat none other than the Timberwolves 113 to 112. That Saturday night, it didn’t seem like San Antonio was the worst record in the Western Conference, especially after defeating the team with the best mark in the same standings. 

Led by Victor Wembanyama, the Texan franchise staged an electrifying fourth-quarter comeback, and even impressed longtime coach Gregg Popovich, who called it their best performance of the season. “This is the best win we’ve had,” he said postgame.

The 20-year-old didn’t share the same view on their win, as he believes their most important one came against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 15, a victory that ended a franchise-record eighteen-game losing streak.

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“But it is definitely a good one, and I think tonight we have to feel proud about what we did and get used to the feeling so we can repeat it,” the French star assured.

Popovich later added that Wembanyama’s minute restriction could be coming to an end soon. “I think it’s something we need to watch for the next 15, 20, 30 games,” the big man agreed. “We’re going to see. I think I’m probably not going to play 45 minutes anytime soon.”

During the match, San Antonio needed to overcome the Wolves’ offensive powerhouse, which saw Anthony Edwards drop 32 points, and big men Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns score 19 apiece. However, it was Wemby who came out on top and made the headlines, recording 23 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals.

“Everybody just scrambled and made s— happen,” said Keldon Johnson said of his team’s defense on the final play. “We played for each other, we played together, and as a team, we stepped up and made big plays. So coming down the stretch, we got stops, and that was the main thing. That’s big time right there. That’s big time. We all did it together.”

Wolves coach Chris Finch is convinced that Wemby will eventually become ‘the face of the league’

Once the contest was over on Saturday evening, the Minnesota head coach Chris Finch was in awe with Wembanyama’s performance, going all the way to share that the 20-year-old will someday dominate the NBA.

“He’s an amazing young player, and he’s going to be the future and the face of the league,” the Wolves trainer said about the rising superstar. “He had a great game tonight.”

Talking about the future face of the league, former star Gilbert Arena recently went on his podcast and compared Wembanyama to Thunder’s Chet Holmgren, who is currently competing with him in the race for the Rookie of the Year award.

“At 21 we see what Chet looks like,” Arenas expressed. “What the f–k is [Wembanyama] going to look like at 21? That’s who you’re going to judge Chet against. You’re judging him against an older player now at the same age. When Wemby gets to 21, who is he gonna be? Is he gonna be averaging 17 and 10? Or is he gonna be averaging about 25-26 and 12?”