“Already ducking scoot smoke” – Victor Wembanyama unlikely to play in summer league, sparks debate among NBA fans
Victor Wembanyama, arguably the highest-touted prospect in recent memory, is unlikely to play in the NBA Summer League. With the draft just weeks away, Wembanyama is simply counting down the days until he gets selected first by the San Antonio Spurs.
While fans held out hope that Wembanyama would wind up playing summer league, giving the NBA community something to look forward to, that won't be the case. According to SpursTalk, the Spurs want to preserve the Metropolitans 92 star for the regular season rather than risk injuring him during summer league.
The news received mixed reactions from fans. While some understood the move, others questioned why the team doesn't want Wembanyama to integrate with their system sooner rather than later.
Victor Wembanyama is unlikely to play in the summer league, per spurstalk.com https://t.co/ok4jAaRm7F
@TheNBACentral Injury prone bust activities. That's an immediate red flag to the NBA coaches across the league.
@WWaveboy @TheNBACentral Zion 2.0
@TheNBACentral https://t.co/eX88fMJmfV
@TheNBACentral Already ducking scoot smoke I’m cryin
@TheNBACentral this guy is getting way too cocky before he even is in the league smh 🤦♂️
@TheNBACentral He’s to good too
@TheNBACentral People will overreact this but he literally just got done playing in France
Wemby has earned some rest and won’t get much out of summer league
@TheNBACentral Load management already…
@TheNBACentral Smart, they saw what happened to Chet, save the season ending injury for the regular season.
Weighing the case for Victor Wembanyama to play, versus sit out in Summer League
On one hand, with Victor Wembanyama entering into a new system in San Antonio, it makes sense that the team would want him to acclimate ASAP. On the flip side, Summer League is often viewed as an opportunity for draft picks to get in shape before training camp.
With Victor Wembanyama currently in the middle of competing in the LNB Pro A finals against Monaco AC, the 7-foot-5 star is already in shape. Given the fact that he's in shape, and will be coming off a finals series, the rest will surely do him good before jumping into an 82-game season.
In addition, Victor Wembanyama is expected to play in the FIBA World Cup this summer alongside Rudy Gobert. Despite the NBA season tipping off in October, Wembanyama has stated that it's important to him to compete for his country:
"I don't want to miss the FIBA World Cup with my national team. I will be there. It's very important for me to defend my country."
Given that, Wembanyama sitting out summer league to rest seems to make a lot of sense considering the World Cup begins in August.
With the hype surrounding a generational talent like Wembanyama, it's no secret that the biggest concern among fans and analysts is his ability to stay healthy. Just last summer, No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren suffered a season-ending foot injury competing in a pro-am run.
The blow to the OKC Thunder was felt throughout the season, with the team teetering on the verge of playoff contention. As fans continued to point out, had Holmgren been healthy, the season could have played out very different.
When looking at the case for Wembanyama to sit out summer league, it's understandable that the Spurs want to protect him from injury.