Wembanyama Shot 1-for-13, Then the Spurs Scored 130 — and That's the Whole Story of Their Week

Four games into a season that began with a Finals hangover and a target on their backs, the San Antonio Spurs have already lived through two entirely different teams. The one that opened at home against Oklahoma City and the one that just put 130 on Sacramento are the same roster. The gap between them is the story of the week.

Opening night was a 104-116 loss to the Thunder in a Western Conference finals rematch, and Victor Wembanyama was the headliner for the wrong reason: 1-for-13 from the field, 12 points, four turnovers. His postgame assessment, per CBS Sports, was blunt — "This is not the sport I like right here." Two nights later in Austin, the Spurs dropped another close one to Houston, 110-114, to fall to 0-2. According to Yahoo Sports, it marked the first time since 1969 that both previous NBA Finals participants started a season 0-2.

Then the switch flipped. San Antonio went to Dallas and won 122-106, then routed a shorthanded Sacramento team 130-103 at home, a game in which Wembanyama scored 29 on 14-of-21 shooting with 10 rebounds and five blocks in just 27 minutes. Head coach Mitch Johnson had challenged the group after the Dallas win, per Pounding the Rock, and the response was the most complete performance of the young season.

The Block Party Is Already in Full Swing

Through four games, Wembanyama is averaging 22.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocks while shooting 45.2% from the field. The block number is the eye-catcher: 17 rejections in four games, including six against OKC and five more against the Kings. He entered the year as the MVP favorite for the first time in his career, per The Athletic, and the Defensive Player of the Year market has him at -350 (77.8% implied), with MVP at +210 (32.3% implied) — a reminder of how much of this team's ceiling sits on one 7-footer's shoulders.

The counterweight is the jumper. Wembanyama is 4-of-19 from three (21.1%) and has yet to find a rhythm from deep. Last season he shot 34.8% from behind the arc on his way to 24.9 points per game. The Spurs don't need him to be a volume shooter; they need him to be respectable enough that defenses can't pack the paint.

The Three-Guard Experiment Is the Real Bet

The more interesting development is behind him. De'Aaron Fox (15.8 points, 7.8 assists, 56.8% shooting), Stephon Castle (18.2 points, 14-of-37 from three) and Dylan Harper (18.2 points, 52.6% shooting) are all logging heavy minutes together, and the early returns are mixed in a productive way. Castle's improved stroke has been called the thing that takes opposing defenses' best coverage off the table, while Harper's three-point shooting is viewed as the key that unlocks the trio. The wrinkle: Harper is at 28.6% from deep, and the group's defensive limitations against elite size have already shown up.

Add Tobias Harris, who has yet to debut this season, and the rotation is still unresolved. Keldon Johnson has reportedly slid toward the fringe of it.

What It Means Going Forward

San Antonio sits 2-2 with a +6.8 point differential, a +3.9 net rating over its last five, and a fourth-place power rating that suggests the underlying team is better than the record. The schedule offers breathing room next: a trip to a Utah team allowing 121 points per game, then Minnesota at home. The West, though, isn't waiting — OKC, Houston and Memphis are all 4-0.

The Spurs spent the offseason answering questions about whether last spring was real. One week in, the answer looks like: the defense and the depth are real, and the shooting will decide how far it goes.