Victor Wembanyama made his much-anticipated return to the starting lineup in the San Antonio Spurs' most recent loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The San Antonio Spurs are coming off a 104-103 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves that saw them blow a 19-point lead. It's hard to find a silver lining after such a tough loss, but we think there is one:
Victor Wembanyama is back in the starting lineup. Injuries have kept him with the second unit or sidelined since December 31st. While he's been incredibly productive in his bench minutes, the Spurs want him in the starting five as much as possible. After all, he's hands-down the best player on the team!
Against the Wolves, Wembanyama posted 29 points and seven rebounds, as well as three steals.
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Between Rudy Gobert's rim protection and Julius Randle's bruising physicality, the Timberwolves are one of the best-suited teams to slow Wembanyama down. In the fourth quarter, fatigue and foul trouble caught up to him, although he was still able to post a solid statline.
Despite the loss, the Spurs were thrilled to get him back with the top unit
"I think it's been great," said Harrison Barnes of Wembanyama returning to the starting five. "I think it's definitely been a challenge for him just navigating injuries this year. You're playing a lot, you go out, on a minutes restriction, go out again, on a minutes restriction. So I think for him, it's not easy coming back from injury on a back-to-back, two back-to-backs. But I thought he did a great job of just continuing to be aggressive, continuing to just trust himself. He knows that we have a lot of trust in him to just go out there and make plays."
Wembanyama played 26 minutes, still on a restriction, and played the same amount of time off the bench in the game before against the Celtics. With no rest and after receiving a battering from Randle, Wembanyama has likely felt better, although he remains healthy.
"I'm sure he'll be sore," said Mitch Johnson.
The Spurs will need Wembanyama to be at his best, as the Spurs have one day off before taking on the league's best team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, on the road on Tuesday.