The San Antonio Spurs lost to the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup Finals, and after the game, it was revealed that their heads may have just not have been in it.
For the second game in a row, Victor Wembanyama came off the bench for the San Antonio Spurs. Unlike his +21 masterclass against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he actrually looked like someone still nursing an injury in the Cup Finals against the New York Knicks.
The Spurs would lose, 124-113, with Dylan Harper leading the Spurs' scoring effort with 21 bench points. Wembanyama offered 18, six rebounds, and two blocks, although he definitly wasn't thinking about his statline.
It was revealed aftyer the game that Wembanyama's grandmother had passed away earlier that day, and a clearly emoptional Wemby couldn't keep his compsure when talking about it.
"I just lost somebody today," he said at the post game press conference. "The playoffs are going to be the the biggest time of year. So I guess it's good that we have this experience today."
He would then leave the room, taking only the single question and making only the one statement.
Of course, even as the face of the NBA, asking him to put on a face and answer questions about a game when life gets in the way is frivolous. In the grand scheme of things, not everything can matter all of the time, and it seems like fans were quick to understand why Wembanyama's effort looked half-hearted at times against the Knicks.
It should be telling that it took a fourth-quarter comeback by New York to beat the Spurs, even with a grieving Wembanyama playing at less-than-his-best.
With the NBA Cup loss, the Spurs will only have one day of rest before finally returning home to the Frost Bank Center to take on the Washington Wizards. After a touugh loss, fans can hope that the Wizards will be an easy win, although there are no true rollover opponents in the National Basketball Assosiation.
The Spurs went into the Cup down two of their best players, still managed to win the "group of death," and marched their way past the Los Angeles Lakers and OKC Thunder. The team made it clear that they were treating the Las Vegas atmposhere like the postseason, and as their season carries on with the playoffs within grasp, hopefully some lessons were learned and players toughened up.
To the Wembanyama family, all of them, we wish them well and hope that they can take the time they need to grieve and mourn. As Gregg Popovich would point out, basketball is just a game. There's a lot more important stuff going on.