Victor Wembanyama was one of the most hyped-up prospects ever and was selected #1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2023 NBA draft. Last night he made his Summer League debut in front of a sold-out crowd in Las Vegas. (with an average ticket price of $96, the highest ever for a summer league game since prices have been tracked)
While the Summer League is not a part of the NBA season itself, this was Wembanyama's first chance to compete and show off his skills against other NBA players.
Wembanyama's summer league debut was not great... he recorded:
9 Points
15% of shots made (2-13)
8 Rebounds
5 Blocks
3 Assists
3 Turnovers
4 Fouls
Wembanyama struggled to get his offense going all game long. He did have a good amount of rebounds and blocks, which you would hope for considering he is 7'4 and the tallest player on the court.
To be fair, this was his first game and he had a ton of pressure and high expectations going into it. While fans may overreact to this one performance he is likely to improve as he plays more games.
It will be exciting to see how his game changes and if he can end up living up to the hype.
Update: In his second summer league game Wembanyama had a much stronger performance scoring 27 points while making 64% of his shots.