2026 NBA Finals

Victor Wembanyama is ready for the bright lights, big stage of NBA Finals

All the world’s a stage, and San Antonio's star big man will be at the center of it when the NBA Finals tips Wednesday.

Jeff Zillgitt | Archive | June 3, 2026 1:01 AM

Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is ready for his close-up at the NBA Finals. Complete coverage: 2026 NBA Finals

SAN ANTONIO – All the world’s a stage, and Victor Wembanyama will be in the center of that stage when Game 1 of the NBA Finals tips off Wednesday. In Wembanyama’s profession, this is the biggest stage, and it is a celebrated entrance for the San Antonio Spurs’ 22-year-old, 7-foot-4 star playing in his first Finals in his first playoff season.

If you’ve paid attention to Wembanyama – not just this season and not just the past few days – this is where he always wanted to be. This is what he always wanted. Nearly three years ago, on the day Spurs selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Wembanyama met with reporters in New York. “Some players have tried to win the championship (and) win a ring for years and haven’t made it,” he said. “I don’t want to be one of those. My goal is going to be to get closer and closer every time to the ring and to learn how to make it.”

He is four victories from that goal. After the Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals for a spot in the Finals, Wembanyama said, “Winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy is a childhood dream.” Given the rise of basketball globally, it was possible for a young kid in France to dream of an NBA championship trophy.

Some people know from a young age what they want to do. Victor Wembanyama talks with the media ahead of Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals. “Falling in love with basketball happened really early on in my life,” Wembanyama said Tuesday. “I have pictures of myself with a basketball at an age where I was not even old enough to have memories. The Larry O’Brien, I don’t remember (when I first learned of it), it really goes too far back. Basketball’s really been there for so long for me. But I guess all kids love trophies and medals.”

Whatever questions existed about his ability to carry a team in the postseason were answered in the Western Conference playoffs. Through a concussion that sidelined him for nearly two games against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, a flagrant foul 2 ejection against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round and a 3-2 deficit against the defending champion Thunder in the conference finals, Wembanyama excelled.

He was named the recipient of the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Trophy as the MVP of the Western Conference Finals after averaging 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.4 steals and shooting 48.1% from the field, 40% on 3-pointers and 89.5% on free throws. In Game 1 against the Thunder, he produced a historic 41-point, 24-rebound game. In a must-win Game 6, he had 28 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, and in Game 7, he had 22 points and seven rebounds and was 7-for-14 on 3s in the final two games of the series.

“Whatever you want to say, the moon, the universe, the galaxy – that’s the limit for him as a player and as a leader being able to do this at 22 already,” Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox said.

While the Spurs obviously benefit from Wembanyama, he also benefits from the organization and its structure that has produced five NBA championships and multiple Hall of Famers. The Association: Victor Wembanyama's impact is greater than the box score

Wembanyama knew this at the 2023 draft when he told reporters the Spurs are “synonymous with winning.” “On the lottery night when the Spurs got the No. 1 pick, I was feeling lucky that they got the pick as a franchise that has that culture, that experience in winning and making good players,” Wembanyama said just before the Spurs drafted him.

The partnership came with expectations on both sides – for the Spurs to maximize this opportunity and for Wembanyama to become a generational player who leads the franchise to another championship. Those expectations and the pressure that comes with that have the potential to overwhelm a player. Not Wembanyama.

During the first round against Portland, Wembanyama was asked whether he feels the weight of expectations and pressure. As he sometimes does, Wembanyama considered the question with a distinct pause thinking about what he wanted to say before he answered. “Not weight,” he said, “It feels safe. It feels like if you trip, there’s a lot of hands that are ready to catch you. From day one, it’s felt that way.”

To understand that at his age is remarkable and a sign of his progressive emotional intelligence. The stage is a basketball court – 94 feet x 50 feet – and millions will watch Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The curtain is about to open on Act 1, Scene 1 of Wembanyama’s Finals performance. What kind of play will he author?

Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at [email protected], find his archive here and follow him on X.

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