Welcome to Pounding the Rock’s 2025-26 player reviews! The series will look at the players who finished the season with the San Antonio Spurs on guaranteed contracts and who played consequential minutes and/or a vital role (so no two-way players because we hardly saw them this year, no players who were traded away, and none of the deep bench centers, since they were both irrelevant and are now all gone).
Victor Wembanyama
2025-26 stats: 64 games, 29.2 MPG, 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, 51.2 FG%
Contract Status: 1 year, $16.9 million remaining (5-year, $252 million extension kicking in on 2026/27)
Age: 22
LeBron James will likely start the last chapter of an amazing career in Philadelphia, looking
for one last ring to add to his resume. Whether Victor Wembanyama will reach the heights of one of the best players ever remains unclear, but Wemby already has one unique thing in common with LeBron: both entered the league with incredible hype and not only lived up to it but exceeded expectations.
Wemby was clearly a once-in-a-generation prospect, but some doubters compared him to Chet Holgrem and even Bol Bol. Despite playing out of position and without a point guard for part of his first year, he proved them wrong by winning Rookie of the Year and finishing second in the Defensive Player of the Year race. By his second season, the question was whether he could expand his offensive game to be more efficient, and he delivered, making his first All-Star Game before having to sit out the last few months after being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis, an injury that likely cost him a DPoY award and his first potential trip to the playoffs. Then, heading into this past season, after proving he could dominate individually, the challenge was to show he could stay on the floor and win at a high level.
To say Wembanyama was up to the task would be an understatement. Between the regular season and playoffs, he played 87 games, finishing third in MVP voting after leading the Spurs to a 62-win season, the midseason tournament finals, and a trip to the NBA Finals. He battled a calf strain early in the season that sidelined him for 12 games and nearly cost him his first Defensive Player of the Year award, but he reached the threshold, also getting his first All-NBA team berth. His minutes were monitored and reduced during the regular season, but he still managed to post career-highs in points and rebounds while improving his offensive efficiency in both scoring and ball security. There is no longer any doubt that he’s one of the best players in the league, at age 22.
Wembanyama is already so good that it’s possible to discuss his greatness by just listing achievements, even though he’s been in the league for just three years. Most criticisms, even the valid ones, can seem like nitpicking. Still, the fact that he clearly has room to grow after such a fantastic season is mindblowing. The struggles with heavy minutes in the playoffs might not be solvable for a player of his size, but the mental mistakes that resulted from them should be. Similarly, opponents will always try to be extra physical with him, and after showing he’s not scared to retaliate, he should learn how to do so without risking suspensions. Wemby can shoot, but his love of the fadeaway can sometimes take him away from better looks. He can handle the ball, but sometimes tries to pull off spectacular moves or tries to take over by attacking off the dribble instead of focusing on getting the ball close to the basket. Even on defense, he can get better at roaming.
It’s exciting for Spurs fans and scary for the rest of the league to think about how great Wembanyama was last season while having real but solvable flaws that still didn’t prevent him from almost being the best player on a title winner.
Looking ahead
Wembanyama signed an extension for the flat 25 percent of the cap, foregoing the escalators that could have paid him up to 30 percent if he reached what, for a player of his caliber, were very attainable goals. It’s not a discount yet, because there was also a chance he didn’t reach the 65-game threshold required for the distinctions he needed to earn the most, but his decision does give the Spurs’ front office predictability for the future, which is huge in the apron era. The gesture also shows how committed Wemby is to the franchise and sets the tone for others.
As for Wembanyama’s future, we’ll see if he has added any new weapons to his arsenal after having a mini-camp in Paris with some of his Spurs teammates when he suits up for the French national team for the FIBA World Cup qualifiers in late August. Ideally, he’d have a jump hook ready, but Wemby prefers perimeter moves, which is fine. If he continues to get more comfortable operating around the free-throw line (AKA The Dirk Spot), he could develop go-to moves from there and delay the post work for later in his career. With Team France having other good big men, he might get a chance to practice sharing the floor with a center, something that didn’t always work last season. In general, it’s safe to assume Wembanyama will show up to training camp as a better player, since his competitiveness and work ethic are top tier.
Barring something unforeseen, Wembanyama will be one of the top players in the world for a long time, and the Spurs will be contenders as long as he’s around.
Top Performance
May 18 at Oklahoma City Thunder, Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals: 49 minutes, 41 points, 24 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 9 points in 2OT.
There are so many great Wemby performances to choose from, but the sheer impressiveness of the numbers and the fact that the Thunder were at full strength for Game 1 makes this one special.
Final Grade: A+
Previous Reviews
Jordan McLaughlin
Carter Bryant
Luke Kornet
Dylan Harper
Keldon Johnson
Harrison Barnes
Julian Champagnie
Stephon Castle
Devin Vassell
De’Aaron Fox
