As we enter the business end of the season after the conclusion of the All-Star break, playoff discussions have slowly started to seep into NBA shows. The NBA on TNT panel recently discussed the rise of two unexpected forces in the Western Conference this year, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves, during a post-game broadcast. Subsequently, Shaquille O’Neal brought up the San Antonio Spurs and their potential to witness a similar outcome in the next few years.
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It would be an understatement to say that the Spurs’ 2023-24 campaign has been pretty disappointing. Despite the heroics of their unicorn rookie, Victor Wembanyama, the San Antonio side has struggled to win ball games throughout the season. Therefore, Shaq underlined the importance of getting busy this offseason for the Spurs as the season is already pretty much over for the team.
“My thing with San Antonio, they gotta get really busy this summer. We know what kind of player they got [in Wembanyama]. They gotta put some players around him. Because all that was cute but it’s still 12-48,” Shaq said. He also expressed his belief that the Spurs could once again recreate the system they had under Tim Duncan and Co. with Gregg Popovich still at the helm of the team.
While Charles Barkley adopted a more laid back approach, giving the team three more years to get things in order, Kenny Smith echoed Shaq’s urgency, “The youth movement is done…Now it’s time to add to that veterans and try to win games and not be in the lottery.” However, Barkley once again urged the Spurs to be patient, highlighting how far removed they are from having a winning record. He seemed to believe that any trade move in the summer by the Spurs aiming at overnight success will be foolish.
Wemby is currently averaging 20.7 points and 10.2 rebounds as he continues to impress in his rookie year. His 28-point performance in the Spurs’ recent 132-118 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder might just have secured him the Rookie of the Year award. But as Shaq had pointed out, there’s no other way for Wembanyama to meet the sky-high expectations on him since Draft Day than to win NBA games. And he needs a lot of help to be able to do that.
LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal had similar expectations on them
LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal were generational talents like Victor Wembanyama, who were drafted with the hopes of turning around their respective franchises. LeBron exceeded all kinds of expectations in his rookie year as he carried a 17-65 Cleveland Cavaliers team that ended at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference table in the 2002-03 season to the ninth spot in the East. The LeBron-led 35-47 Cavs missed the playoffs being just 1 game behind the Boston Celtics.
Quite similarly, Shaquille O’Neal carried the Orlando Magic from the bottom of the Eastern Conference table (in the 1991-92 season) to a .500 record in his rookie year. Moreover, Shaq would prove his dominance in his third year in the league by leading the brand new Magic franchise, that had never won a playoff game before their star player’s arrival, to the 1995 NBA Finals (that too defeating the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls).
Fans would be looking at Wembanyama for a similar surge next year as he starts to get used to things in the league. However, there’s no denying that the French rookie would need a lot of help to fund his run to playoff glory.
