Victor Wembanyama’s debut in the NBA regular season did not go as many might have expected of him. The San Antonio Spurs, led by Coach Gregg Popovich, lost their first home game to Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks. The Slovenian star was the show’s highlight, putting on an incredible triple-double performance against Wemby and Co.
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However, despite Doncic’s stunning game, as per a clip uploaded by Hoops Hype on X, Popovich wasn’t initially ready to give enough props to the 2019 Rookie of the Year. But all such jokes aside, Coach Pop does realize the Hall of Fame potential in the Mavs stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
In fact, he expects them to perform this way every night, keeping up with their future Hall of Fame status in the league.
Gregg Popovich describes Luka Doncic’s performance against the Spurs as ‘average’
Coach Gregg Popovich did not seem quite pleased with the Spurs’ 119-126 loss in their first home game against the Dallas Mavericks. Wemby maintained his preseason form but failed to show up against Luka Doncic and Co. to help his team win the game.
On the other hand, Luka Doncic once again brought himself back in the MVP conversations with a triple-double game. Playing 34 minutes on the hardwood, Doncic dropped impressive stats of 33 points, 10 assists, and 13 rebounds, leading Dallas to their first victory of this season.
Coach Pop never really dismissed Luka Doncic’s abilities as a top player. In fact, he expects him and Kyrie Irving to prove their ‘Hall of Fame’ worthy performance on every game night. However, Popovich gave Doncic his due flowers for the triple-double performance against Spurs. Speaking to the press about the same, Coach Pop said,
“It was average. What the hell? That’s a Hall of Fame performance like he does almost every night, he was great. Kyrie wasn’t bad either. You know what? The two future Hall of Famers got us. They took over the game. But, that doesn’t really bother me that much.”
Gregg Popovich on Luka Doncic’s performance: “It was average.” 🙃 pic.twitter.com/3b38b0NbKh
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) October 26, 2023
This was quite an unexpected performance from Victor Wembanyama, who was highly anticipated amongst other rookies in his regular-season debut. Though Wemby could score a modest 15 points, 2 assists, and 5 rebounds in the game, perhaps we could see these stats getting better in the upcoming games of the season. And, the head coach has faith in his skillset.
Coach Gregg Popovich has full faith in Victor Wembanyama
Coach Gregg Popovich is well aware of the hype generated by Victor Wembanyama since his draft this year. The French prodigy is a crucial element in the Spurs’ new rebuilding arc, showing the same potential as Tim Duncan did back in the day.
Given the immense hype and craze surrounding Wemby, Coach Pop has full faith that the 19-year-old will live up to his potential.
“There’s been a lot of hype around him [Wembanyama] for a long time and he doesn’t let it affect him. He’s very mature. He’s very emotionally strong. His priorities are in order. He’s very professional already.”
Coach Pop has been trying to motivate the young core of the Spurs to show up to their potential this season. Other players such as Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassellm, and Jeremy Sochan also received Popovich’s praise and support for this season. Despite not having a veteran presence, the Spurs still seem strong enough to progress well in the regular season.
