Victor Wembanyama Praised by NBA Fans in Spurs' Loss to Ja Morant, Grizzlies
Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacek
Featured Columnist IVJanuary 3, 2024
The San Antonio Spurs are focused on the future with Victor Wembanyama, while the Memphis Grizzlies are attempting to climb back into the playoff race in the present.
That was apparent Tuesday.
Memphis defeated San Antonio 106-98 in the Western Conference showdown at FedExForum to snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 11-22 overall. The Spurs have lost three in a row themselves now and are an ugly 5-28 on the campaign.
Still, Wembanyama impressed despite being on a minutes restriction and finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and four blocks on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting from deep.
While Desmond Bane (24 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field) and Ja Morant (26 points, 10 assists and five rebounds) impressed for the Grizzlies, it was the 19-year-old who turned heads on social media:
JeffGSpursKENS5 @JeffGSpursZoneWembanyama blocking Grizz shots tonight like.... <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/porvida?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#porvida</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nba?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nba</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sanantonio?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sanantonio</a> <a href="https://t.co/dpKX4iJVFb">pic.twitter.com/dpKX4iJVFb</a>
Wembanyama is always going to generate headlines when he takes the court, but the Grizzlies are the ones trying to climb back into playoff positioning after an abysmal start to the season when Morant was suspended.
They seemed to be doing just that when they won their first four games after he returned, but they entered Tuesday's contest in need of a win after three straight losses. There is no better opponent in the Western Conference to get one against than the Spurs at home, but Wembanyama's defense made it easier said than done.
The star rookie threw an early block party with four swats in the first half alone, including on a drive to the rim from Morant. He also added multiple monster dunks and mixed in a three-pointer on the offensive end while hinting at his massive potential and overall versatility.
It looked like he was playing horse when he gave the Spurs the lead in the third quarter with a three-pointer off one leg, but Bane responded with a 7-0 run by himself to give Memphis the lead for good.
Morant also got some revenge for the earlier block:
The home team never looked back after Bane's spurt and now has some momentum heading into another winnable contest against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday. As for Wembanyama, his Spurs will host the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.