Dallas Mavericks spoil Victor Wembanyama’s NBA debut with 126-119 win

SAN ANTONIO – French prodigy Victor Wembanyama scored 15 points for the San Antonio Spurs in his much-anticipated National Basketball Association (NBA) debut on Wednesday, but Luka Doncic’s triple-double spoilt his start as Dallas beat the Spurs 126-119.

The 2023 top NBA Draft pick, in foul trouble throughout the second half, made six of nine shots from the floor, three of five from three-point range, with five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot over 23 minutes in his first NBA contest.

“It was a lot of emotion. It would have been perfect to win,” said Wembanyama. “Tonight really marks the beginning. It’s still a dream, I hope to keep that dream feeling.”

Slovenian guard Doncic had 33 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for the Mavericks, who scored the last eight points for the victory.

“It all starts with our defence,” Doncic said. “We played good defence for three quarters but especially at the end we locked in.”

Wembanyama, the 19-year-old phenomenon considered the top NBA prospect since LeBron James, used his 2.24m frame, surprising quickness and outside shooting touch to display his arsenal of skills in the first game of his rookie campaign.

“I was happy. It’s representative,” Wembanyama said of his performance. “This in itself is not exceptional. But I hope what I do next will make it special.”

Wembanyama had two fouls in the first quarter, two more early in the third quarter and his fifth only 26 seconds into the fourth quarter.

“Maybe I wanted to do too well, not to put my energy into the right things,” he said. “I don’t need to put that much energy into defence. I’m learning for a first game. These are simple things.”

He returned with 7:12 to play and sparkled late. Wembanyama made an alley-oop dunk shot off a pass from Devin Vassell, added a three-pointer, and his dunk with 4:56 to play gave the Spurs a 113-112 lead.

A Wembanyama jumper tied it at 115-115 with 3:55 remaining, but “Wemby” was not a main scoring option late on for the Spurs and the Mavs were too tough down the stretch.

“I was just focused on being the best I can be when I step back in the court,” Wembanyama said. “We’re hungry already for the next game.”

He began drawing huge cheers from a sell-out crowd after only 38 seconds, blocking a jump shot by eight-time NBA All-Star guard Kyrie Irving.

Wembanyama grabbed his first rebound off the defensive boards after 59 seconds and his first assist came 12 seconds later off a Zach Collins jumper.

He opened his NBA scoring account on a trey with 8:24 remaining in the first quarter for a 13-7 Spurs lead.

“Fortunately for us, he’s a very tooled, prioritised young man,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Wembanyama. “I don’t have to teach him what is it to be a pro.” AFP