Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs have rapidly arrived as championship contenders.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs weren’t supposed to be this far along at this point in their development, entering the Western Conference Finals with confidence, momentum — and just about everything they need on the court except for significant NBA playoffs experience.
The Spurs aren’t concerned about everybody else’s timeline. They’ve got another series to play soon against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, and they’re aiming to win it.
“I understand the general expectations of what we were supposed to do in October aren’t necessarily aligned with where we’re at right now,” coach Mitch Johnson said after the 139-109 romp past the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. “We never talked about what we were going to be or what we were going to do. We just knew that we had a lot of potential and we were going to try to be the best team we could be.”
Drafting Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick in 2023 was the most obvious step toward this moment for a proud franchise that won a collective five NBA championships over coach Gregg Popovich’s storied tenure from 1996-2024, but the way they’ve assembled a strong, smart, speedy and slick-shooting backcourt around him has proven to be a masterpiece in roster building.
