Boris Diaw: San Antonio is good for Victor Wembanyama because the can help him grow at his own pace

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How confident are you about Victor Wembanyama’s future in the NBA playing for a franchise that you know so well? Boris Diaw: I think San Antonio is good for him because they can protect him, help him grow at his own pace, and yeah, he’s already improving, getting better every year. And so he has great, great, great potential, and he’ll just keep improving. We don’t know how far he can go, you know, what’s the ceiling, so everybody’s just watching and trying to help him grow as well, and he’s doing a great job personally as well.Source: HoopsHype

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Tim Reynolds @ByTimReynolds
Victor Wembanyama reflects on San Antonio’s 2-game stay in Paris: ‘This week was amazing’ apnews.com/article/spurs-… pic.x.com/XKEo8N2hc9 – 4:17 PM

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Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Victor Wembanyama: “This week was amazing.” pic.x.com/6dzCgRrbfH – 3:46 PM

Tim Reynolds @ByTimReynolds
Victor Wembanyama just thanked the media for making the week incredible. (He also thanked everyone else.) – 3:46 PM

Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
Indiana Pacers get payback on Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in #NBAParisGames2025 rematch.
eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/17… – 3:00 PM

Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Both teams turn to their benches for the final 4mins. Wemby’s game is over with 20pts, 12rebs.
Haliburton led the Pacers’ charge in the 3rd, then a strong 4th from T.J. McConnell to keep the momentum.
Great thing about a two-game series is the response + adjustments – 2:25 PM

Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Would you believe me if I said the Pacers had eight blocks, twice as many as the Spurs? And just one by Wemby.
They’re not running into him like they did so often last game, forcing TOs, and have 13 more FGAs – 2:16 PM

Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
3Q: Pacers by 12. Spurs win 3Q 36-33. It was a 1-point game with 3 mins left, then Haliburton took over.
Barnes 23 pts
Wemby 19 pts
Castle 12 pts
CP3 11 pts
Haliburton 28 pts
Siakam 15 pts
Mathurin 13 pts
Nembhard/Turner 12 pts each
2s: IND by 4
3s: IND by 18
FTs: SA by 10 – 1:58 PM

Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Here goes Haliburton. A jumper, then back-to-back 3s.
Pacers taking advantage with Wemby tired and subbed out. As they must – 1:52 PM

Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Wemby is tired and just turned to the bench to request a sub. – 1:48 PM

Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
The Spurs have ERASED the Pacers’ 17 point lead. San Antonio leads by 1 after the Wemby contested floater.
Spurs are outscoring Pacers 27-11 in the 3Q.
Barnes up to 20 pts, still getting to the line. – 1:45 PM

Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Wemby was furious with the no call, yelled at the official then stood in place and didn’t run back on defense. He felt (and looked like) he was hacked in the paint.
Pacers have plowed ahead 71-59 – 1:31 PM

Brian Windhorst @WindhorstESPN
A.J. Dybantsa, the top prospect in the 2026 NBA Draft, came to Paris this week to watch Victor Wembanyama. And now he wants to play alongside him with Spurs: shorturl.at/f6n2c – 1:25 PM

Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
Half: Pacers by 15. IND wins 2Q 32-26, turned up intensity defensively toward end of 2Q.
Wemby 17 pts, 4 reb, 1 blk
Barnes 11 pts
Mathurin 11 pts
Nembhard/Haliburton/Siakam 10 pts each
2s: Pacers by 6
3s: Pacers by 9
FTs: Tied
24.5% turnover % for SA (2nd percentile per CTG) – 1:14 PM

Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Fantastic close to the half by the Pacers, leading 65-50. Applied pressure (and from full court) from the jump, as expected.
Pacers have 10 more FGA as Spurs have 12 TOs. Wemby leads all with 17pts. Pacers have four with 10+. – 1:10 PM

Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
Wemby has 17 points in the game and it’s not even halftime yet. In the 2Q alone, he’s scored 12 points.
Mamu found him for a left handed alley-oop on a drive inside earlier.
Vassell blocked 2 shots last game and he got his first block today with Toppin trying to post him up – 1:03 PM

Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
Mamukelashvili 🇬🇪 to Victor WEMBANYAMA 👽
pic.x.com/pc9DmzBghn – 1:02 PM

Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
Wemby gets the Spurs within 6 points of the Pacers’ 11 point lead.
Wemby with 10 points.
He blocked Siakam on a spin, then finished a drop-in layup with his left hand. He then got a steal near midcourt and pulled up for a 30-foot three off glass. – 12:47 PM

Tim Reynolds @ByTimReynolds
Wemby steal. Wemby crossover. Wemby 3-pointer from the logo. Banked it, but it went in. Wemby things. – 12:46 PM

Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
1Q: Pacers by 9.
Barnes 11 pts
Wemby 5 pts
Nembhard 7 pts
Mathurin 6 pts
Turner 5 pts
2s: Tied
3s: Pacers by 6
FTs: Pacers by 3 – 12:40 PM

Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Pacers amped up their activity level and fight. Sprinting to spots, getting out in transition, diving on loose balls, and forcing five turnovers already.
They lead by seven early as Wemby now returns to the game. – 12:35 PM

Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
11 points for Barnes in 1Q. Been aggressive driving inside with 6 paint points.
Pacers have been going inside with 14 paint points. Wemby is getting pulled away from rim with IND running P&Rs & Spurs switching action. He gets left on ball handler, leaving vulnerable rim – 12:33 PM

NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA
A true homecoming for Wemby 🇫🇷 #AllAccessParis
(via @WindhorstESPN) pic.x.com/6ce5FCcnTD – 12:29 PM

Joe Vardon @joevardon
AJ Dybantsa is here in Paris for Spurs-Pacers, with help coordinating his week from Adam Silver’s office. The top HS player in the US wants to play with Wemby (on the Spurs), and against him on Team USA, @TheAthleticNBA nytimes.com/athletic/60877… – 12:13 PM

Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Incredible roar from the crowd, mostly standing, as Wemby made his way to the floor 46mins before tipoff. pic.x.com/xREQooPRn5 – 11:36 AM

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Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
Starters for Spurs vs Pacers in France:
CP3 vs Haliburton
Vassell vs Nembhard
Castle vs Mathurin
Barnes vs Siakam
Wemby vs Turner – 11:35 AM

Erik Slater @erikslater_
NBA leaders in effective field goal percentage (min. 12 FGA and 7 3PA per game):
Cam Johnson: 61.3
Zach Lavine: 60.8
Norman Powell: 59.4
Tyler Herro: 58.6
Stephen Curry: 57.6
Kyrie Irving: 56.6
Malik Beasley: 56.4
Derrick White: 56.3
Victor Wembanyama: 56.3
Damian Lillard: 55.0 pic.x.com/xgb7S4LGbY – 9:32 AM

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Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
Had All-Star starters out West been decided by the media, the starting five would have gone in this order: 1. SGA 2. Jokic 3. Wemby 4. Curry 5. LeBron
Wemby didn’t make the starting five though because he came out 4th in fan and player voting ranks: open.substack.com/pub/thespotups… – 12:05 AM

Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
Spurs’ third quarter runs vs Pacers and Wemby was close to being named All-Star starter open.substack.com/pub/thespotups… pic.x.com/2MmGDRRRJV – 11:56 PM

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More on this storyline

GOAT debate: A silly one, or do you have a candidate? Boris Diaw: I think it’s silly. You cannot compare different generations. I think you can pick a GOAT like for every 10 years. Like the GOAT of the 80s, the GOAT of the 90s, 00s… I don’t think you can compare the NBA in the 80s with the NBA in the 2010s. It’s different games, different rules, different ways to referee. It’s just very different. -via HoopsHype / January 25, 2025

Who was the GOAT of your generation then? A tough decision between your teammate Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant? Boris Diaw: [Laughs] That’s tough. But yeah, for me, it was so hard to guard Kobe at some point that… He was the one in our generation, he was amazing. But obviously, I love TD and he was an amazing teammate. So if I had to pick the GOAT of teammates it would be TD, I think he was a better teammate. -via HoopsHype / January 25, 2025

How important has Gregg Popovich been in your life? Boris Diaw: He is a great, great coach and a great mentor. A person who has done so much for this franchise, and the teams that he’s coached. So during my time there, I felt that Spurs culture, the Spurs family, and Pop was just a big part of it. I had a great time. -via HoopsHype / January 25, 2025

There were a slew of other moments to make this trip back to Paris worth remembering. “This week was amazing,” Wembanyama said. “I was just seeing my family. I’m not trying to get emotional, but everybody did their job to making this week incredible.” -via ESPN / January 25, 2025

It’s unknown when Victor Wembanyama will play in France again. He’d love to be part of games in Paris every year, and while it would seem like a safe bet the NBA will send the Spurs back one day an annual occurrence might be unlikely. He knows this, and that’s one of the reasons he tried to cherish every second of this trip. “I did my best to make this week special for my team, for my family, my friends,” Wembanyama said. “But people still found ways to surprise me, to make things feel like it mattered for them, and I matter for them. So, it’s priceless.” -via ESPN / January 25, 2025

Dustin Dopirak: Rick Carlisle: “Victor Wembanyama is such a unique challenge. To have a two-game set like this is such a revealing situation.” -via Twitter @DustinDopirak / January 25, 2025

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