Amid brutal 18-game losing streak, Spurs trying all they can to forge something around Victor Wembanyama

SAN ANTONIO — Gregg Popovich walked into Madison Square Garden for Victor Wembanyama’s New York debut in early November as if his Spurs had walked into the Sistine Chapel. There was a reverence in Popovich’s voice, speaking on the history and the setting, the opportunity for his French phenom and No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft to run that hallowed court with its iconic organ chiming from the rafters.

A little more than a month later, Popovich did not approach the possibility of Wembanyama’s first clash with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday with nearly the same aplomb. Perhaps the grizzled head coach had learned that James, listed as questionable following a Tuesday night battle in Dallas after the Lakers’ sprint to the inaugural in-season tournament title, would not be dressing before Los Angeles returns to the Frost Bank Center on Friday. But Popovich nonetheless dismissed any extra gravity surrounding James and Wembanyama crossing paths.

“I think more about trying to make 3-point shots and that sort of thing,” Popovich said.

His team’s weaknesses have certainly been top of mind as the Spurs’ franchise-record losing streak has reached 18 games following their 122-119 loss to the Lakers. San Antonio did shoot 16-of-37 from distance to power a valiant comeback effort, but it converted just 5-of-41 from 3-point range in its previous defeat at Houston. Overall the Spurs came into Wednesday ranked 29th in the league in 3-point success, and their dearth of consistent marksmen — in addition to the team’s porous defense — has helped damper the promising early returns Wembanyama has delivered.

It’s reached the point where, after an offseason of confidence about slotting Wembanyama next to versatile center Zach Collins, the former Gonzaga big man’s particular struggles from deep forced San Antonio to pull the plug on the twin towers starting pairing after 20 games — despite its hopes of saving Wembanyama from nightly beatings that come against opposing brutes like Anthony Davis. Collins has connected on just 27.1 percent of his 3s after drilling 37.4 percent of a career-high 147 attempts last season.

“I think if we were shooting it a little bit better, I think it would have worked better,” Collins said. “The negative right now is spacing, so that’s a big reason why we went back to one big out there starting the game instead of two.”

The other notable change in San Antonio’s approach has been the conclusion of their experiment with 6-foot-9 swingman Jeremy Sochan at point guard. Popovich had previously labeled that effort a season-long case study, evaluating an unusual passing gene from Sochan despite the No. 9 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft having never played the role of lead ball-handler at any stage of his basketball life. And yet the results were too paltry, the losses too frequent, the stakes of Wembanyama’s development too high. Especially as Sochan was and still is being tasked with blanketing opponents’ best guards.

The Spurs are instead opening games without any nominal point guard. Five of San Antonio’s first-round selections over the past five drafts — Wembanyama, Sochan, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and Malaki Branham — are all getting the chance to rip defensive rebounds and start breaks and learn along the way. Popovich left that unit on the floor for the first six minutes against Los Angeles before swapping in an entire lineup of reserves, including Collins.

“Our spacing has been better,” Vassell said. “Even with all of us, even when Vic’s getting the rebound, he can push it up, too. So there’s no real stopping in play. We’re just kinda going and playing fast. And I think when we’re playing faster, we’re at our best.”

The tweaks and adjustments are all emblematic of the greater vision Spurs staffers have deployed. No new idea has gone without further consideration as they create some form of basketball laboratory inside San Antonio’s magnificent new practice facility, which remains under active assembly 20 minutes north of downtown. A construction crew was hauling planks of lumber into the lobby and up the stairs during Spurs shootaround, while the team’s collection of prospects took turns shooting a pair of free throws at each basket around the exterior of the courts on the second level.

The building is open despite the work in progress. This roster is far away from any lofty dreams of immediate playoff contention with Wembanyama at the center of the franchise. Perhaps that should have been the realistic expectation from the beginning with the 19-year-old stepping into the NBA with more jersey than muscle hanging off his wiry frame. There is no savvy veteran to direct traffic in the right direction while play is underway. Longtime Spurs assistant Brett Brown, who returned to San Antonio after overseeing the storied “Process” rebuild in Philadelphia that produced reigning MVP Joel Embiid, could have told you that from the wobbly opening moments of Wembanyama’s Summer League debut. Wembanyama is still learning the different geometry and pageantry of this game compared to anything overseas.

“It’s not that easy. It’s not easy at all,” Wembanyama said. “Sometimes we’re looking at film, and we just think, ‘Yeah, we could do that every time.’ But the reality of the court is that we have to make some reads and improvise at times. But, of course, one of my goals is to repeat what works.”

San Antonio’s defensive shortcomings were on full display against the Lakers as well. The Spurs offered wide-open triples to Los Angeles’ lineup of shooters, who circled the perimeter as if standing at a series of Pop-A-Shot terminals. Davis feasted for 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the first half, many of which came from inside the black painted area of San Antonio’s home floor.

And yet there remain those tantalizing glimpses, when Wembanyama can reject a Lakers floater on one end and then sprint to flush an alley-oop on the other. When San Antonio can claw back from a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit with stop after stop. The Spurs produced the poorest defense in NBA history last season but have seen their efficiency rise to 12th over the past 10 games at 114.2 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com, which San Antonio believes is largely due to Wembanyama’s exceptional presence around the basket.

He is already providing elite rim protection, swatting six shots against the Lakers and leading the league in block percentage — an astounding 8.2% of opponents’ two-point attempts when he's on the floor. And it’s not just the metrics. San Antonio has seen plenty of film in which Wembanyama’s mere presence and the threat of his wingspan simply deters opponents’ typical moves as they attack the cup.

“Everybody knows if you try to challenge Victor straight up at the rim, you’re gonna lose,” Collins said.

At worst, Wembanyama — who totaled 30 points, 13 rebounds and three steals against the Lakers — currently projects as a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate. The gaudy totals and statlines will come anytime he takes the court, by his sheer athleticism with such a ridiculous 8-foot wingspan, which his first H-E-B commercial celebrates. It aired on the Jumbotron during one timeout, featuring Wembanyama walking into an apartment with a dozen red shopping bags draped along his interminable arms.

And yet this teenager with the world before him still understands nothing will compare to when he’s leading the Spurs away from a long, long stretch of losing.

“It’s going to look better when we win,” Wembanyama said.