The San Antonio Spurs are off to a red-hot start to the 2025-26 season, and much of their success has to be attributed to Mitch Johnson and the coaching staff. Johnson has emphasized slowing things down offensively, and that has served to seriously [level up Victor Wembanyama](https://airalamo.com/spurs-just-quietly-granted-victor-wembanyama-his-longtime-wish) and allow this group to perform at an even higher level.
In the spirit of embracing the way the modern game is increasingly played, Popovich was leaning into playing with pace in his later years as this team's head coach. While it's easy to see the thinking there, it's now becoming clear that slowing the process down and becoming more intentional about certain things has served to raise the Spurs' ceiling.
This change has been very deliberate and has been aimed at giving Wembanyama more time to establish his position in the half court, read defenses, and dictate the tempo on his own rather than having to conform to it. The results so far have been very hard to argue with, and the team's success is undeniable.
What helps us to frame this conversation even more effectively is by referencing back to the previous two seasons of Victor's career. In his rookie season, San Antonio ranked third in the association in pace. Last season, in 2024-25, that number dropped down to 13th. Now, as of Wednesday afternoon, the Spurs are measuring in as the 27th-quickest team in pace on the season (or fourth slowest). That's a remarkable change.
Slowing down the offense is benefitting both Wemby and the Spurs
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Right along with this shift in the team's offensive dynamic has come a change in Wemby's shot profile as well. Whereas he was attempting a career-high 8.8 three-pointers per game this past season, that number is now down to 3.5 this year. Meanwhile, his efficiency on the interior has soared. Mitch's approach to the offense hasn't been just to simply slow things down, it's been to re-orient it around Victor's specific strengths.
Johnson's new offensive structure has allowed Wembanyama to catch the ball closer to the basket and attack mismatches more consistently. Instead of being a perimeter unicorn, Victor is now looking like [a dominant interior force](https://airalamo.com/victor-wembanyama-truth-spurs-fans-already-seeing-before-their-eyes) with futuristic versatility.
The result of this is that the Spurs are now playing with more overall composure and are committing fewer mistakes, winding up with less empty possessions. Wemby's turnover rate is at a career low, and his shooting percentages near the rim are going up.
A slower tempo has led to more consistent and purposeful execution in the halfcourt, as well as Wembanyama's skillset shining that much more. There have still been some ups and downs for him, particularly in the last two games. But it's clear that this process of slowing down the offense is producing winning basketball while continuing the development of San Antonio's franchise player in the best way possible.