Victor Wembanyama scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds on Tuesday night, but the San Antonio Spurs still trudged off the floor at Chase Center on the wrong end of a 118-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors — a defeat that pushed them to the brink of elimination in the Western Conference finals, and prompted their 22-year-old superstar to publicly question his own approach.
“I need to be better — more of a team player,” Wembanyama said in a subdued post-game press conference, towel draped around his neck. “I’m taking shots I shouldn’t take. I’m not trusting my guys enough in the fourth quarter. That’s on me. We don’t lose this game if I make the right read three or four more times.”
The Frenchman attempted 26 shots, made 10, and turned the ball over six times — five of them in a third quarter that saw a five-point Spurs lead evaporate into a 14-point deficit. Golden State now leads the best-of-seven series 2-1, with Game 4 in San Francisco on Thursday.
A self-critique that says more than the stat sheet
Wembanyama’s willingness to absorb blame is, on its own, unremarkable for a player of his standing. What was striking was the specificity. He cited two possessions by name: a step-back three over Draymond Green with 6:42 remaining and the Spurs down four, and a contested fadeaway over Jonathan Kuminga on the next trip down. Both missed. Both came with Devin Vassell open in the corner.
“I saw him. I saw Dev both times,” Wembanyama said. “I just thought I could make the play. That’s the wrong instinct in that moment of a playoff game. Veterans don’t do that.”
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson, in his second season after taking over from Gregg Popovich, declined to pile on. “Vic is 22 years old and carrying a team in the conference finals — let’s keep that in perspective,” Johnson said. “But yes, we need better decisions in the half-court when Golden State traps him at the nail. We’ve shown those clips. We’ll show them again.”
The numbers back the concern. According to Second Spectrum tracking, Wembanyama has been double-teamed on 41 percent of his post-ups in the series, the highest rate of any player in this year’s playoffs. His passes out of those doubles have generated 0.94 points per possession — well below the 1.18 mark he produced against Denver in the second round.
How Golden State has changed the math
Steve Kerr’s staff has built the series around denying Wembanyama clean catches above the foul line and forcing Spurs guards to create out of broken sets. Green, who finished with 11 points, nine assists and the kind of orchestrating defensive performance that defined Golden State’s dynasty, has been the linchpin.
“He sees plays two passes ahead of where most bigs are looking,” Green said of Wembanyama. “So we don’t let him catch where he can see them. Simple as that. Make him a scorer, not a passer. Make him work for two instead of finding a layup for someone else.”
The Warriors’ adjustments after a 121-104 Spurs win in Game 1 have been clinical:
- Switching Brandin Podziemski onto Stephon Castle to take away the Spurs’ best half-court initiator
- Trapping Wembanyama with Green and Kuminga on any catch above the elbow
- Daring Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes to beat them from the corners — they are a combined 7-of-26 from three across Games 2 and 3
Stephen Curry, who scored 34 on 12-of-22 shooting, was blunter. “We’ve played a lot of great players in this building. The book on stopping a great player is the same. Pick the thing he loves most and take it away.”
What Game 4 demands
San Antonio has not trailed 3-1 in a playoff series since 2017, when Kawhi Leonard’s ankle injury ended their conference finals run against these same Warriors. The franchise’s identity since drafting Wembanyama first overall in 2023 has been built on patience — a generational center given room to grow. The Western Conference finals are the point at which patience runs out.
The Spurs will need Castle, the reigning Rookie of the Year, to look more like the player who averaged 21 points against Denver and less like the one shooting 32 percent in this series. They will need Vassell to take the open looks Wembanyama is now publicly promising to find him. Most of all, they will need their 7-foot-4 fulcrum to do what he said he would: read the second defender, not the first.
“I’ll be better Thursday,” Wembanyama said as he left the podium. “That’s not a promise to you. That’s a promise to my teammates.”
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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