Haunted by NBA Finals defeat, Wembanyama, Spurs driven to complete mission of being league's best

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama spent many uneasy nights this offseason revisiting the Spurs' loss to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.

For an athlete fully committed to a regimented schedule of diet, exercise and a preferred bedtime of 9 p.m., the restless evenings were telling.

Wembanyama was hurting. So, Victor did what Victor does.

The 7-foot-4 center worked feverishly in the offseason, including another unorthodox training excursion to improve his body, mind and spirit.

Did it help him recover from the heartbreaking defeat?

“I can’t answer that question because it’s not over," Wembanyama said Monday during San Antonio's media day. "It evolves with time. I’ve had a few sleepless nights, maybe not sleepless nights, but hard to find sleep sometimes or hard emotions, hunting sometimes. But the reason is just a point where you accept that you have to go through it and you have to feel all of it. And we don’t want to hide from anything. So, we’re going to face these emotions, face the reality that we have a hundred games to play, 100 plus (including the postseason), and this is the reality of it. We’re in a great spot. We’re very hopeful, very ambitious, and we’re ready.”

The recovery process included spending time with friends, but in Wembanyama's own disciplined way. He invited teammates to Paris in August for a series of workouts.

“Obviously we have to go through some emotions and you do some of that alone, but it’s great to do as a team,” Wembanyama said. “I think a lot of positive things of everything we did this summer, just being together, honestly, it was amazing. Especially Paris for me, that was really touching, pretty emotional for me. So, yeah, this is a great positive.”

Wembanyama put his hand over his heart when speaking of the Spurs time in Paris, emphasizing it's importance. It moved his teammates, too.

“Obviously, it’s good to take a break, but just having all the guys in one room again and just breaking bread with each other was probably the best thing about being in Paris," Spurs point guard Dylan Harper said. "I feel, like, for on the court, I mean, you hang out off the court, you get comfortable around your teammates, it allows you to be vulnerable. It allows you to say what’s on your mind and no one else is taking it the wrong way. I think for us the biggest thing is accountability and I feel like every day, no matter what setting we’re in, we’re always going to hold each other to the same standard.”

Shortly after those workouts, Wembanyama trained with French rugby club Provence Rugby in Aix-en-Provence to improve his footing, lower-body strength and ability to absorb physical contact. The rugby workouts are not unusual given Wembanyama's curious nature, which led him to spend two weeks training at the Shaolin Temple in China last offseason.

“The training itself was really hard,” Wembanyama said of working with Provence. “I think it was really good for the vestibular system and new movement patterns and new ways to develop strength as well.”

Since Wembanyama was drafted No. 1 in 2023, he has made it clear that his and San Antonio's benchmark is to be the best. Still, few expected a youthful roster led by the 22-year-old Wembanyama to reach the NBA Finals last season, but that didn't make the loss less painful for the Spurs.

Wembanyama averaged 26 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.6 blocks against New York, but San Antonio lost in five games.

San Antonio blew double-digit leads in every loss, including Game 4 when New York overcame a 29-point deficit and staged the largest comeback in NBA Finals history in a 107-106 victory.

For the Spurs and their fans, it was a painful reminder of the 2013 NBA Finals when San Antonio lost a five-point lead in the final 28 seconds of Game 6 to lose to Miami. The Heat won Game 7 to rally from a 3-2 series deficit and beat the Spurs.

Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich famously used the heartbreak of 2013 to fuel the Spurs' relentless drive to win the 2014 championship.

Only time will tell if history will repeat, but San Antonio is again using a Finals loss as motivation.

"We made it to the place we wanted to get to, but obviously we need to win," Spurs forward Julian Champagnie said. "However anybody looks at it, I feel like we've got an opportunity to do the same thing over again and go back and control the controllables. I feel like that’s kind of where we are. So, I think that we’ll definitely use this past year in helping us push past a lot of stuff this year and get to where we want to get to.”

The loss is heartbreaking, but defeat could spur Wembanyama to win it all.

“I couldn’t imagine better motivation,” he said.

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