For Wembanyama himself, though, perhaps the most important thing was to be himself—to become the league's first Wembanyama, rather than the next Durant or Giannis Antetokounmpo...
And the coming night might well be one of the most important tests of his caliber this season.
Facing the New York Knicks, led by Chen Xi—the current number one player in the league and quite possibly its future greatest player of all time—what kind of performance would Wembanyama deliver? The fans had plenty of reason to look forward to finding out.
Before long, it was 8:30 p.m. on the twenty-first.
Inside the AT&T Center, the Knicks and the Spurs officially tipped off their first meeting of the season.
Knicks starting lineup: Derrick Rose, Chen Xi, Paul George, Obi Toppin, Isaiah Hartenstein.
Spurs starting lineup: Jalen Brunson, Devin Vassell, Jonathan Kuminga, Jeremy Sochan, Victor Wembanyama.
When tip-off time arrived, the players exchanged brief greetings, finished their respective "pregame rituals," and took their positions on the court.
The clash that had drawn the attention of countless fans finally got underway.
There was no suspense at the opening tip. The Spurs won it easily.
Wemby's height of two meters twenty-four and wingspan of two meters forty-four gave him an overwhelming advantage in that department.
In the backcourt, Jalen Brunson received the ball and slowly brought it across half court, then moved to the top of the key to initiate their first possession.
As the Spurs' best acquisition over the past two years aside from Wemby, Brunson had further demonstrated his exceptional individual ability this season—or, really, ever since leaving the Mavericks.
Before Wemby entered the league, he had unquestionably been the Spurs' best player in terms of sheer ability. Even after Wemby arrived, judging by the current situation, Brunson remained the strongest player on the