Easy winners at the Dallas Mavericks (125-92), the San Antonio Spurs were able to count on a fantastic Victor Wembanyama, author of 40 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.
For his grand return to the NBA, Wembanyama was the referee of the duel between Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper, the star rookies of this 2025 vintage. And we only saw "Wemby" whilst the number one of the last Draft started as a starter at position one alongside Klay Thompson, PJ Washington, Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively. For his first possession in his career, the former Duke player is sent to the alley-oop by Davis, but he cannot complete the dunk. However, the former Laker takes the offensive rebound and takes charge of putting the ball back in the basket to open the scoring.
On the Spurs' side, Wembanyama (40 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks) does not take long to show himself since he scores his first points on a mid-range shot against Lively, which launches a 10-0 run in San Antonio's favour (14-8). At the end of the first act, the Frenchman gets the better of Naji Marshall, once again from mid-range, but it is the Spurs who are behind after ten minutes of play (29-28).
Victor Wembanyama in his works
San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama celebrates with Stephon Castle
During a large part of the second act, the two teams exchange blows until the moment when Wembanyama decides to take things into his own hands.
To start, the Chesnay native feints PJ Washington and attacks the basket to score his second reverse dunk of the match, but he is also the victim of an Anthony Davis foul.
Just after, "Wemby" plays the Dallas interior in isolation. The latter bites on a feint from the Frenchman who elevates from mid-range to score a new 2+1. San Antonio chain since Stephon Castle (22 points, 7 rebounds, six assists) shows himself whilst Dylan Harper (15 points, four rebounds) scores his first basket in the NBA to wrap up a 12-0 run in Mitch Johnson's men's favour (57-48).
After the break, Cooper Flagg scores the first basket of his young career, but sees his following shot blocked by Wembanyama and, on the counter-attack, Stephon Castle sends Devin Vassell to the alley-oop. A few minutes later, the Spurs' superstar shines again with an isolation on Lively. The Frenchman manages to find himself space at three-point range and he does not miss his target. All with the foul, which allows him to pass the 30-point mark.
Speaking of fouls, Wembanyama commits his fourth during this third act and joins the bench. In his absence, Stephon Castle (22 points) takes over and intercepts a D'Angelo Russell pass to go conclude a 2+1 in counter-attack that offers twenty points' lead to the Spurs (82-60).
A gap that Dallas will not manage to fill and Jason Kidd's teammates suffer a heavy 125-92 defeat, whilst Wemby straight up signs the perfect match with therefore 40 points at 15 of 21 shooting, 15 rebounds, three blocks and... no turnovers!
What to remember
– Wembanyama has not lost his touch. After eight months of forced break because of his venous thrombosis in the shoulder, the Frenchman was dazzling for his return, developing the full extent of his offensive palette. From his alley-oop concluded with a reverse to this 3+1 on Lively via isolation play on Davis, "Wemby" was a nightmare for Dallas' defence.
– Difficult debut for Cooper Flagg. Flagg experienced a complicated first evening in the NBA. If he knew how to show himself on rebounds with ten grabs, the number one of the 2025 Draft struggled at shooting level with 10 points, 10 rebounds at four of 13 shooting.
– Dallas' clumsiness. Flagg is not the only one to miss the target since Davis finished the match at 7/22 shooting and Klay Thompson displays 4/13. Amongst the starters, only PJ Washington was accurate with his 17 points at 6/11 shooting.
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