<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-devises-plan-new-supporters-section');   ga('set', 'title', 'Victor Wembanyama devises plan for Spurs’ new ‘supporter’s section’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Wembanyama-on-the-sidelines.jpg"><figcaption>Scott Wachter-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Victor Wembanyama devises plan for Spurs’ new ‘supporter’s section’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-10T09:53:20-07:00">September 10th, 9:53am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-10T09:53:20-07:00">September 10th, 9:53am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University alum from Atlanta who graduated with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-wemby-hakeem-olajuwon-workout-summer-shenanigans">San Antonio Spurs are just</a> six weeks away from kicking off a 2025-26 season in which they will hope to make the NBA playoffs for the first time in over half a decade. The good news for the Spurs is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-fans-wont-like-victor-wembanyama-picking-kobe-bryant-over-tim-duncan">that star Victor Wembanyama</a> has been cleared of the blood clot scare that prematurely ended what was sure to be a Defensive Player of the Year-winning season in 2025-26.</p><p>The Spurs have long been known to have one of the more loyal fanbases in the NBA, but recently, Wembanyama proposed <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46210098/victor-wembanyama-spurs-host-tryouts-super-fan-group" rel="noopener">a way for the team</a> to make things even louder in their home arena.</p><p>“The Spurs have announced plans for a tryout for a new ‘supporter’s section,’ with tryouts for the group set to be held on Sunday,” reported the Associated Press, per ESPN. “Wembanyama came up with the plan, which is loosely modeled after what he’s seen from soccer and basketball teams in Europe and around the world.”</p><p>“It’s been an idea,” Wembanyama said. “And now it’s a project.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Victor Wembanyama devises plan for Spurs’ new ‘supporter’s section’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-fans-wont-like-victor-wembanyama-picking-kobe-bryant-over-tim-duncan');   ga('set', 'title', 'Spurs fans won’t like Victor Wembanyama picking Kobe Bryant over Tim Duncan');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/San-Antonio-Spurs-center-Victor-Wembanyama-1-looks-on-from-the-bench-during-the-fourth-quarter-of-the-game-against-the-Sacramento-Kings-at-Golden-1-Center.jpg"><figcaption>Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Spurs fans won’t like Victor Wembanyama picking Kobe Bryant over Tim Duncan</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-09T19:48:32-07:00">September 9th, 7:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-09T19:48:32-07:00">September 9th, 7:48pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-new-shaved-head-look-chinese-temple">Victor Wembanyama has had quite an eventful offseason</a>; the San Antonio Spurs star went East to begin his summer filled with sidequests, experiencing what it’s like to stay for 10 days at a Shaolin Temple in Zhengzhou, China. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-news-kevin-garnett-victor-wembanyama">Wemby then hung out with Kevin Garnett</a> right after he underwent Buddhist tradition training, and now, the Spurs star is meeting with celebrities Snoop Dogg, Daniel Radcliffe, and Tina Fey — with the French wunderkind embracing his global superstar status.</p><p>But the summer of Wembanyama is not done yet, even though there is only around a month to go before the new NBA season begins. Wembanyama took some time to talk to his fans on the Spurs’ official Instagram account, but one fan asked him a difficult question – who between Spurs legend Tim Duncan and the late great Kobe Bryant does he hold in higher regard? His answer <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1965592811383955937" rel="noopener">may not sit well</a> with the Spurs fanbase.</p><p>“Tim Duncan or Kobe? Tough question. Probably Kobe all-time. Eh actually, I don’t know,” Wembanyama answered.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“Tim Duncan or Kobe? Tough question. Probably Kobe… Eh actually, I don’t know.” </p><p>– Victor Wembanyama on IG live😅👀</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/spurs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@spurs</a> /IG)<br> <a href="https://t.co/iLuMPGQhWY">pic.twitter.com/iLuMPGQhWY</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1965592811383955937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>While Wembanyama did try to walk back what he said, the fact that Bryant was his first answer is rather telling. But one must remember that the<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-long-term-san-antonio-dream"> Spurs star is only 21 years of age;</a> he was five years old when Bryant won his fourth championship in 2009, and six when he won his final ring in 2010. Bryant also evolved into a larger than life figure, as he became the epitome of how, with hard work, anyone can achieve their goals.</p><p>Duncan did have his moments in the 2010s, when Wembanyama was a pre-teen. He and the Spurs won a title in 2014, bouncing back after their near-miss in 2013. But that was with Duncan being part of an ensemble; Duncan’s best years came when Wembanyama had no idea of how the world around him worked just yet.</p><h2><b>Spurs fans, do not take what Victor Wembanyama said to heart</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Banchero-and-Wembanyama.jpg"><figcaption>Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>If given some time to come up with a more well-informed answer to the question, Wembanyama would have said that he rates Duncan more highly than Bryant, if only to appease to Spurs fans. But he was put on the spot during that Instagram live session, so he answered with the first thing that came to mind. And it shouldn’t be too surprising to anyone that an early-2000s baby would find Bryant’s game endearing.</p><p>But at the end of the day, it’s hard to come up with a wrong answer to the Duncan and Bryant debate. Both of them were excellent during their time and it’s rather pointless to rank one above the other.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Spurs fans won’t like Victor Wembanyama picking Kobe Bryant over Tim Duncan

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/houston-rockets/exclusive-ralph-sampson-sets-record-straight-on-victor-wembanyama-comparisons-rockets-kevin-durant-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Exclusive: Ralph Sampson sets record straight on Victor Wembanyama comparisons');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Ralph-Sampson-Houston-Rockets-Kevin-Durant-Victor-Wembanyama-San-Antonio-Spurs.jpg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>Exclusive: Ralph Sampson sets record straight on Victor Wembanyama comparisons</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-26T09:16:52-07:00">August 26th, 9:16am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-26T09:16:52-07:00">August 26th, 9:16am</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his free time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter and Instagram for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When Ralph Sampson was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 1983 NBA Draft, he was clearly ahead of his time. Nowadays, the former Houston Rockets <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/ranking-victor-wembanyama-among-nbas-6-unanimous-rookie-of-the-year-winners">big man gets compared</a> to San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama due to his unique size and abilities.</p><p>Despite playing in the league 30 years ago, Sampson believes he could still dominate the NBA today.</p><p>Ralph Sampson was among a slew of former professional athletes and celebrities who came together in Los Angeles recently to support the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-james-worthy-reacts-to-luka-doncics-new-shape-las-10-billion-sale">Harold and Carole Pump Foundation</a>‘s 25th Anniversary Celebrity Dinner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.</p><p>The event, hosted by brothers David and Dana Pump, takes place every August to raise money and create awareness for the treatment and cure of cancer. The Pump brothers, in working with the Northridge Hospital Foundation, have raised more than $10.5 million for the Carole Pump Women’s Center, the Harold and Carole Pump Department of Radiation Oncology, and the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Cancer Center at Northridge Hospital Medical Center and other non-profit community charities.</p><p>Sampson showed his support for what he and Lakers legend James Worthy called one of the biggest charitable events of the year.</p><p>“I mean, one is the camaraderie of the guys that join together,” Ralph Sampson explained to ClutchPoints. “There’s very few times we can do that as professional athletes. We’re doing that for a good cause today and this is one of the biggest causes, the biggest charitable events of the year. We all like to come support the Pump Brothers. It’s amazing.”</p><p>Sampson came into the NBA in 1983 as a rare, 7-foot-4 big man who was as agile as he was strong. When Victor Wembanyama began rising as a top prospect, many compared his game to the likes of Sampson, a lanky big man with range who could also put the ball on the floor. Wembanyama, of course, had much more range and ball-handling abilities by the time he entered the league.</p><p>Sampson believes that, despite being ahead of his time, he could play in today’s NBA.</p><p>“Ehh, that’s what they say,” Ralph Sampson told ClutchPoints with a smile. “But you know, I could have played in this era for sure and I would probably dominate the game more than I dominated the game in the past.”</p><p>Sampson’s career was derailed by injuries, but the center was a force to be reckoned with in his first three seasons with the Houston Rockets. In 243 games, Sampson averaged 20.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, a steal, and 2.0 blocks per game.</p><p>Even in today’s game, Sampson feels like he could dominate.</p><p>“30 and 20,” Sampson said. “Easy.”</p><p>“They say I’m Wemby, the first, he’s Wemby, the second. But I’m Ralph the first, he’s Ralph the second. I could post-up, I could dribble, and I could shoot outside. We didn’t shoot many 3s when I played, but I’m sure my mindset would’ve been really tough to play and would’ve been at an elite level of the game.”</p><h2><b>Ralph Sampson loves Rick Carlisle’s Pacers</b></h2><p>Sampson, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, is one of two players ever to win National Player of the Year three times, alongside Bill Walton. In his Player of the Year seasons at Virginia, Sampson averaged 17.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 3.1 blocks per game.</p><p>One of his teammates on those Cavaliers teams was Rick Carlisle, who is now the head coach of the Indiana Pacers. Ralph Sampson said he doesn’t have a particular player he enjoys watching more than another, but adds that his former teammate is one that he likes to follow.</p><p>“I like to watch all of them and I like to see the guys that put the grit and grind in and play hard each night. They’re always one guy that does that. Most teams don’t have that. My favorite team is the Indiana Pacers with Rick Carlisle. I played with him in college and he’s doing an amazing job.”</p><h2><b>Ralph Sampson on the Rockets’ Kevin Durant trade</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Kevin-Durant-35-rebounds-against-Houston-Rockets-forward-Jabari-Smith-Jr.-10.jpg"><figcaption>© Erik Williams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While the Pacers aren’t expected to be contenders in the Eastern Conference following the Achilles tear of Tyrese Haliburton, one team that is hopeful to contend is the Houston Rockets.</p><p>Following months of speculation, Kevin Durant was traded to the Rockets in a trade that sent Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green to the Phoenix Suns.</p><p>The Rockets were able to keep Alperen Sengun, Fred Van Vleet, and Amen Thompson, putting together what they hope is a real contender in the Western Conference.</p><p>“[Kevin Durant] fits together with anybody,” Sampson added. “I love KD and he’ll teach those young guys how to be a professional. I think it’s a great fit. It should extend his career. They should give him more money and more contracts because I think he’s isn’t going to have to play as hard, but he can play smart and preserve his body for the playoffs.”</p><p>Durant just finished his 17th season in the NBA, where he averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game whiles hooting 52.7 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point range.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Exclusive: Ralph Sampson sets record straight on Victor Wembanyama comparisons

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-cooper-flaggs-debut-comes-victor-wembanyama-espn');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg’s debut comes vs. Victor Wembanyama on ESPN');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Mavericks-rookie-Cooper-Flagg.jpg"><figcaption>Candice Ward-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg’s debut comes vs. Victor Wembanyama on ESPN</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-12T06:57:48-07:00">August 12th, 6:57am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-12T06:57:48-07:00">August 12th, 6:57am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Dallas Mavericks rookie <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-dereck-lively-ii-dallas-cooper-flagg-insane">Cooper Flagg will have all eyes on him</a> when he makes his NBA regular-season debut in the coming 2025-26 campaign. On Tuesday morning, ESPN formally announced the games on its slate for Opening Week Presented by State Farm, and among them is the <a href="https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2025/08/espn-and-abc-unveil-blockbuster-nba-opening-week-and-christmas-day-broadcast-schedules-for-2025-26-regular-season/" rel="noopener">showdown between Texas rivals</a> in the form of the San Antonio Spurs and the Mavs.</p><p>That game is scheduled for Oct. 22, Wednesday, at American Airlines Center in Dallas, with ESPN’s coverage of the contest beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET (Eastern Time).</p><p>There are a lot of reasons for basketball fans to be excited for that meeting. Apart from Flagg’s debut, that meeting between the Mavericks and the Spurs will also have two of the last three top NBA draft picks. The Spurs will have 2023 top pick Victor Wembanyama welcoming the 2025 first overall pick in Cooper Flagg.</p><p>The Mavericks won the regular-season series against San Antonio in the 2024-25 campaign, winning three of four meetings. Dallas took the first three games before the Spurs took care of business in the finale. However, Wembanyama was only able to see action in one of those games, which was during the Spurs’ 120-109 loss in both teams’ season opener in Dallas. Wembanyama missed the next Dallas game with a knee issue and the final two Mavericks assignments for the Spurs due to a blood clot in his right shoulder.</p><p>Cooper Flagg carries the hope for a bright future for the Mavericks, who are still trying to establish their footing following the shocking February trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. With Flagg, the Mavs have a new young talent who appears to have the makings of the next face of the Dallas franchise. However, Dallas could face rough sledding in the coming season, with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-dangelo-russell-dallas-kyrie-irvings-injury-absence">Kyrie Irving expected to miss a long period</a> because of a torn left ACL injury.</p><p>Before turning pro, Flagg played a college basketball season with the Duke Blue Devils. During his stint under Jon Scheyer, Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks through 37 games, while making 48.1 percent of his shots from the field and 38.5 percent of his tries from behind the 3-point line.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg’s debut comes vs. Victor Wembanyama on ESPN

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-victor-wembanyamas-craziest-st-blew-kevin-garnetts-mind');   ga('set', 'title', 'Spurs star Victor Wembanyama’s ‘craziest s**t’ that blew Kevin Garnett’s mind');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Wembanyama-during-All-Star.jpg"><figcaption>Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Spurs star Victor Wembanyama’s ‘craziest s**t’ that blew Kevin Garnett’s mind</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-11T08:13:11-07:00">August 11th, 8:13am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-11T15:54:04-07:00">August 11th, 3:54pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/san-antonio-spurs-final-move-must-make-complete-2025-nba-offseason">San Antonio Spurs are looking</a> to take another step forward in the 2025-26 season after an up-and-down campaign last year. Recently, the Spurs made a big commitment by <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-deaaron-fox-message-signing-229-million-contract">extending De’Aaron Fox</a> on a max contract, helping solidify their crowded guard room.</p><p>However, the head of the snake remains Victor Wembanyama, the generationally talented former No. 1 overall pick who San Antonio drafted back in 2023.</p><p>Recently, NBA Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett was watching some of Wembanyama’s impressive highlights, and <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1954914541092925761" rel="noopener">broke down one play</a> in particular that caught his eye.</p><p>“He shammgod’d a n**** from the post. … That was the craziest sh*t I’ve ever seen a big n**** do,” said Garnett, per KG Certified on YouTube.</p><p>Wembanyama has indeed become known for his impressive ball-handling skills and mobility for someone standing well over seven feet tall, and he also has an unguardable three-point jumper to go on top of that.</p><p>Add that to Wembanyama’s status as arguably the best defender in the league–he was on his way to winning the Defensive Player of the Year award a season ago before his blood clot scare–and it’s easy to see why he was such a highly touted prospect.</p><h2><b>A big year for the Spurs</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Spurs-All-Star-Victor-Wembanyama.jpg"><figcaption>Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Prior to the Fox extension, there was some question around what the Spurs would do about their point guard room, which featured Fox, last year’s Rookie of the Year winner Stephon Castle, and this year’s No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper.</p><p>However, by extending Fox on a max contract, the San Antonio front office is making it clear that they won’t be walking back their decision to trade for the former All-Star anytime soon, even if it means juggling some interesting rotations at times during the upcoming season.</p><p>The Spurs recently got some good news when it was revealed that Wembanyama has recovered from his blood clot scare and will be ready to go for the upcoming season.</p><p>San Antonio was also announced as one of the 10 teams to receive a Christmas Day game this year. The rest of the Spurs’ schedule will be announced later this week.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
24.3	11.0	3.7	3.8	1.1

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
24.3	11.0	3.7	3.8	1.1

Victor Wembanyama

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