Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs faced unexpected travel complications following their Saturday road game. The 22-year-old French center and his teammates prepared for a routine flight home to Texas after facing the Charlotte Hornets.
The No. 2 seed in the Western Conference saw their post-game plans completely disrupted on January 31, 2026. Mother Nature forced the entire organization into an unplanned overnight stay in North Carolina.
The Spurs lost 106-111 to Charlotte at Spectrum Center after tip-off was moved from 3 p.m. to noon ET. A severe winter storm classified as a bomb cyclone approached the region throughout the afternoon.
San Antonio's players and staff boarded their charter plane at Charlotte Douglas International Airport after the loss. The team spent over 2 hours on the tarmac waiting for takeoff clearance that never arrived.
Runway brake tests failed repeatedly due to ice and snow, leading flight officials to cancel the departure and send passengers back to a local hotel for the night.
The storm dumped 6 to 9 inches of snow across Charlotte with nearby areas receiving up to 12 inches. Wind gusts reached 35 mph, creating near-blizzard conditions that grounded over 800 flights regionwide.
The Spurs entered the game with a 32-15 record but dropped to 32-16 after the defeat. Charlotte extended their winning streak to 6 games behind Brandon Miller's 26 points and Collin Sexton's 21 off the bench.
Victor Wembanyama posts quiet numbers in a rare blockless performance
The 7-foot-4 center finished with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting against the Hornets. He grabbed 8 rebounds and added 1 assist and 1 steal across 31 minutes of action.
Most notably, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2023 NBA Draft failed to record a block. This marked just the 3rd time in his last 13 games without swatting a shot.
The performance fell below his career averages against Charlotte of 19.3 points, 10 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks over 3 meetings. Rookie Dylan Harper led San Antonio with 20 points in the losing effort.
The NBA rescheduled the Spurs' next game against Orlando from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. CST on Sunday to allow the team time to fly back and prepare. Critical home matchups against Oklahoma City on February 4 and Dallas on February 5 also loom ahead.
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