San Antonio (AFP) – Victor Wembanyama said he still struggles to sleep sometimes following San Antonio’s loss to New York in June’s NBA Finals, but the French superstar predicts the Spurs will be tougher this season. “We’re fighting for the top spot of the mountain,” Wembanyama said on Monday. “We’re going to have to move people in our way.”
The 7-foot-4 (2.24m) center reached his first NBA Finals in only his third season since being selected first overall in the NBA Draft, but the Spurs fell to the Knicks in five games. “I couldn’t imagine better motivation,” Wembanyama said. “We’re in a great spot, very hopeful, very ambitious and ready. We won the West last year and we don’t want to do anything less this year. We want to be the first seed and we want to keep fighting for the top spot.”
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Wembanyama said there remains an emotional toll from the heartbreak. “We have to go through some emotions and some of that you have to go through alone,” said Wembanyama. “Hard to find sleep sometimes, hard emotions. There’s just a point where you accept that you have to go through it and feel all of it. We’re going to face these emotions, face the reality that we have 100 games to play.”
“Wemby” was last season’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year and led the league in blocked shots for a third consecutive season. The 22-year-old Frenchman said he felt the Spurs’ 22-game playoff run last season made him better. “It feels like going through something of great magnitude,” he said. “I never played so many games or so many minutes. We still pushed through it. I’m in better shape than I could have expected right now just off experiences and growing.”
Wembanyama is prepared to be the hunted among NBA clubs instead of chasing other favored clubs. “It feels like we’re in our place. It feels normal,” said Wembanyama. “There are high expectations around us. We will play each team at their best every night. No one will be surprised by our performances now.”
Wembanyama averaged NBA career highs of 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds last season, as well as 3.5 assists, 3.1 blocked shots, and 1.1 steals a game for the Spurs.
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