Victor Wembanyama obviously did an unselfish thing when he inked his five-year, $252 million max contract extension with the San Antonio Spurs, giving the franchise financial flexibility to help bring in more talent to get back to the NBA Finals.
Plenty of NBA stars have made this kind of move but not all of them. It's not lost on the NBA world that Wembanyama was willing to take a pay cut. It'll help the Spurs get the kind of talent that can help him win a championship.
Now, Wembanyama is getting some due props for the decision. At the same time, the Spurs are being called the No. 2 best team in the league going into 2026, thanks to his move.
Spurs receive high ranking in NBA power rankings
ESPN has unleashed its NBA power rankings going into the 2026 season. In it, they have the Spurs at No. 2, only behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. Those pesky guys.
They note that adding Tobias Harris from the Detroit Pistons was a huge win. That's on top of Wembanyama's unselfish move also being a big win.
"Franchise superstar and reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama improved the front office's chances of keeping the squad together even longer by giving the organization a huge discount on what should have been a supermax extension," Michael C. Wright says.
He adds, "San Antonio also enhanced its roster in free agency by acquiring a savvy, reliable veteran in Harris to bolster the team's presence inside."
So, the future is bright for the Spurs. A lot of it is thanks to their rising franchise star.
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