San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, the NBA’s first round draft pick, poses for photos during an NBA basketball media day in San Antonio, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama celebrates after a basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace in the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023, in Oklahoma City.
“I mean, it’s incredible to watch,” Spurs forward Doug McDermott said. “He just does some things that you can’t really explain, that fans would be surprised by. He’s so coordinated for how tall he is, just a very unselfish player, can make any play and he’s very comfortable shooting from anywhere. So, it’s going to be a lot of a lot of fun this year.
Spoelstra is the coach with the second-longest current tenure with his team, behind only Popovich. There is a longstanding friendship between the two, just as there is great respect between the Spurs and Heat — born in large part from the NBA Finals matchups in 2013 and 2014. “I think that’s probably just piquing a great deal of interest,” Spoelstra said. “I mean, Pop is the one of the greatest that’s ever done it. He’s coached a lot of different kinds of teams, a lot of different kinds of players. And I think you want to coach guys that are totally unique.”