SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs tried to provide David Robinson and Tim Duncan with all they needed to develop quickly, but were lacking a bit when it came to their newest superstar, Victor Wembanyama.
Robinson and Duncan had veteran players like Paul Pressey, Terry Porter and Avery Johnson to help mentor them through their early years in the NBA. As a 20-year-old rookie, Wembanyama’s teammates were primarily about the same age with only a year to three years more experience.
“You think about the people who came in when Timmy and Manu (Ginobili) and Tony (Parker) were here,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “They had good examples to look up to, (players) who had been in the league for a while. It’s important in a player’s development. These guys for the most part haven’t really had that. Even Victor, obviously he’s super talented, but he needs that also just like everybody else who’s young.”
Enter Chris Paul and exit any questions about veteran leadership in San Antonio.
“I watched him a lot (growing up),” Wembanyama said. “He’s a player I actually remember watching as a kid. I’m really excited from just the (one) week we’ve spent here with him. All of us, we learned a lot. We all knew he was going to fit with us but the way he’s trying to make his best to fit in with us, to teach us from day one.”
The Spurs signed Paul and traded for Harrison Barnes to help nurture what was the youngest team in the league last season. Paul and Harrison bring a combined 33 years of playing experience and 220 playoff games to a team hoping to break a five-year playoff drought.
“I think the biggest thing that I hope I can bring to this team is the competitiveness,” Paul said. “We talk about it all the time. Playing hard is a talent, but it’s not enough. This team here has already shown the ability to play hard and to compete night in and night out, but now we’ve got to figure out how to translate that to wins.”
While the Spurs have won 22 games in each of the past two seasons, expectations are high for a playoff push behind the unique talents of the 7-foot-3 Wembanyama. San Antonio tied an NBA record with 22-straight playoff appearances under Robinson and Duncan prior to this current rut.
Entering his 20th season, Paul is long regarded as one of the league’s great floor leaders. He was named All-NBA 10 times, including four first-team selections, was named All-Defensive first team seven times, was a 12-time All-Star and led the league in assists five times.
“His IQ is off the charts,” Popovich said. “It was always difficult playing against him because he was thinking ahead of the coaches.”
More importantly for San Antonio, Paul has spent his entire career at point guard beginning in 2008 at New Orleans when he was named Rookie of the Year.
The Spurs attempted to convert power forward Jeremy Sochan to its starting point guard last season, but the experiment failed. San Antonio went 3-20 to open the season as Sochan struggled to learn a position he had never played before on any level.
The experiment also slowed Wembanyama as he opened at power forward before shifting to center to begin his climb to winning Rookie of the Year.
Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals and was the youngest player to lead the league in blocks at 3.6 per game. He also was the first player in league history 1,500 points, 250 blocks, and 100 3-pointers in a season and joined Duncan and Robinson as the only rookies in league history with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks in a game.
“He’s a dog,” Sochan said of Wembanyama. “That’s the definition of him. On the court, the stuff he does is unbelievable, but it’s because of the work he does (off it). When there are no cameras, no people around, the work he does mentally physically, he just works and that’s amazing to see.”
What can Paul do to help Wembanyama get even better? Teach him how to dunk, Paul jokingly said.
“For me with him, it’s going to be just trying to help him settle in more,” Paul said. “Coming here as a rookie like he with all the expectations and for him to play as well as he did and to know the expectations to be behind this year, I think I can just hopefully help in his growth and just help where I can.”
Getting the opportunity to start was a big factor in Paul signing with the Spurs. The 39-year-old started a career-low 18 games for the Warriors.
At 39 years old, Paul is by far the oldest player on the Spurs’ roster and his youthful teammates make sure he knows that.
Rookie Stephon Castle reminded Paul that he attended one of his youth camps and joked that his dad, Stacey, played at Wake Forest with him — Stacey actually played with Duncan. Keldon Johnson also gave up No. 3 to Paul, who was the inspiration for the 24-year-old to choose that number in the first place.
“Aside from hooping and playing basketball, we spend a lot of time with each other,” Paul said. “It’s a great group to be around. I can honestly say that, and I mean it.”
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