Victor Wembanyama Analyzes Worst-Ever Shooting: No 'Fun' In Spurs Loss To OKC

Victor Wembanyama led the NBA in blocks per game for a third straight season in 2025-26. According to the team, only Dikembe Mutombo and Marcus Camby had done that before him.

He averaged 3.08 blocks and 1.03 steals. Opponents shot 40.7% against him, the lowest mark in the league, per the San Antonio Spurs. In April, he became the first player to receive every first-place vote for Defensive Player of the Year, and the youngest to win it. In May, he was a unanimous pick for the All-Defensive First Team.

He is 22 and will not turn 23 until January. As a rookie in 2023-24, he won Rookie of the Year unanimously and finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

And yet ...

In Tuesday's regular-season opener, the Spurs lost to OKC in a lopsided 116-104 decision that left Wemby unhappy.

“I feel like it’s obvious for me. I need to go back to playing the basketball I like. This is not the sport I like right here,” Wembanyama said. “I got no reason to be hesitant, no reason to not be myself.

"For me, it’s as simple as that. I’m good when I have fun.”

This certainly wasn't fun for the defending Western Conference champs.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said Monday, one day before the opener, that San Antonio is still adding to its defense.

"There's a lot of growth," Johnson said. "I understand his impact now and what he's done, but he can be a much better communicator. He can recognize things quicker. He can be able to connect his teammates and anticipate things before they happen. His perimeter defense has a lot of room to grow."

"We're continuing to add things, so just in terms of his corporate knowledge of that, and being able to retain things quicker and then be able to help his teammates, is a ton. And he already is all the things that he is," Johnson continued.

How did that play out in the opener?

Wemby's problem was more on offense.

Wembanyama had 12 points but was a dismal 1 for 13 from the field. Wembanyama's lone field goal came on an alley-oop pass from De’Aaron Fox as time expired in the third quarter, meaning ...

Wembanyama missed his first 12 shots,

“I might be overthinking it, and I feel like it’s a chance for me that what I have to do is really let go,” Wembanyama said. “I don’t need to do more. I need to think less, probably.”

Wembanyama totaled 197 blocks last season. He recorded 50 games with multiple blocks and had 17 games with five or more, according to the team. He also led the NBA by contesting 9.3 shots per game.

Since he entered the league in 2023, his 627 blocks are the most in the NBA. That is 203 more than any other player, per the Spurs. San Antonio finished third in defensive rating at 111.3.

Pattern recognition is what Luke Kornet has built over his own years in the league. Kornet played four seasons at Vanderbilt before reaching the NBA.

"I think a good thing is that he's very perceptive and very creative in terms of the stuff he does," Kornet said. "At least from my own experience of how much pattern recognition and just knowing players, and how deeply that gets over the years, and how much that can help. The game's always changing a little bit, but you definitely just grow in terms of awareness of guys and seeing patterns. And I think especially with Victor being able to do what he does, there's going to be a lot of teams that are trying to come with counters for that."

"And so then you get to have those reps of having this experience of playing against that. I think it's just part of the natural play in the game and figuring it out. But obviously, no matter how talented you are when you're young, think about how much better you're going to be with five more years of experience and understanding. That'll always be happening and taking place. Obviously, he's already been pretty successful on that end of the floor, so the experience will only help," Kornet added.

Kornet had his own moment against Oklahoma City in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. Midway through the fourth quarter, he blocked Isaiah Hartenstein at the rim and took away a fast-break basket that would have pulled the Thunder within four.

Kornet said a lot of teams are trying to do things around Wembanyama.

"I think there's a big responsibility of communication," Kornet explained. "And I think, once again, that's where pattern recognition — because it's one thing to know something that's happening and to be able to vocalize it, and the more that that just gets streamlined, where you're already anticipating what teams are going to be doing. Especially for him, knowing that a lot of teams are trying to do stuff around him or trying to figure that out."

"The more you can become perceptive of what is the other team trying to do and how can we counter that, there's just more ways to grow. And the better you can communicate or identify stuff, you can get your whole team on the same page, and it just uses your strengths best," Kornet continued.

Devin Vassell spoke Thursday, the day after the Spurs beat Phoenix in the second-to-last preseason game. He had two blocks in Game 6 of the conference finals, a 118-91 San Antonio win.

Vassell said teams will try to pull Wembanyama away from the basket so he cannot be the low man.

"Everywhere," Vassell said. "Anticipation, when he's guarding a one-on-one. There's just a bunch of different spots to where teams are going to try and draw him out, make sure that he can't be low man. So him just anticipating and seeing different things. When he's down there, he discourages everything. He's getting blocks. But I think just another part of his game where he can be just anticipation."

"And when he's guarding one-on-one, we're all happy with that. So just being able to lock up one-on-one, too," Vassell detailed.

All of that sounds grand. But it didn't come to fruition against OKC ... with another crack at it on Friday against the Rockets.