Batum off on timing of Wemby’s excellence
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Nicolas Batum could say he saw all this coming, and he would not be lying.
The monster numbers, the highlight reel plays, the blocks, the dunks – Batum knew what the kid was capable of long before the basketball world atlarge had heard the name Victor Wembanyama.
Now if Batum said he saw this coming from Wembanyama so soon, well, that would be stretching the truth a bit.
“I didn’t think he would do that in year one,” said Batum, a Philadelphia 76ers forward and Wembanyama’s fellow French countryman. “I was like, maybe year two. That’s the only thing I am kind of surprised about.”
Part of the old guard of French basketball, the 35-year-old Batum has known the 20-year-old Wembanyama longer than most.
He had been warning his NBA compatriots about what was coming long before the Spurs made Wembanyama the No. 1 pick in the draft last June.
Nothing Wembanyama did in the Spurs’ 133-126 double-overtime loss to Philly on Sunday could dissuade Batum from the opinion the rookie is already special.
In another box-scoring stuffing night in a season full of them, Wembanyama pumped in 33 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, blocked seven shots, handed out six assists and made 5 of 10 from 3-point range.
For Batum, it provided another harbinger for a bright future for Wembanyama.
“What we are seeing right now might be the worst Wemby we see in like the next 15 years,” Batum said. “That is the scariest part.” Sunday marked the sixth time this season Wembanyama posted at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks in the same game. The rest of the league has produced five such outings combined.
Heading into Tuesday’s game at Memphis, Wembanyama is averaging 21.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals and an Nba-high 3.5 blocks.
Despite Wembanyama’s onslaught, the 76ers were able to win Sunday in San Antonio without reigning MVP Joel Embiid. They did so behind a careerbest 52 points from Tyrese Maxey, 26 from Kelly Oubre Jr., and – yes – three timely 3-pointers from Batum.
The next time Wembanyama and Batum meet will be as teammates on the French national team in this summer’s Olympic games in Paris.
For now, Batum was grateful to have been able to catch Wembanyama at his brilliant worst.
“I am glad I won that one,” Batum said. “I don’t think it is going to be easy to win against him in the future.”
Reality bites for Champagnie
For Spurs forward Julian Champagnie, it was a case of once bitten, twice shy. Literally.
The second-year forward briefly had to leave the court in the second quarter after teammate Keldon Johnson accidentally bit him on the face while celebrating Champagnie’s go-ahead 3-pointer.
“That’s a first for me,” Champagnie said.
Champagnie briefly had to head to the locker room at the end of the first half to get two tooth-mark sized gashes closed above his left eyebrow.
Afterward, Champagnie laughed about Johnson’s accidental exuberance.
“I think he wanted that 3, so he kind of got a little mad at me and bit me,” Champagnie joked. “Everybody knows Keldon. He’s a super energetic dude … He’s going to have to close his mouth around me from now on.”
Champagnie recovered to produce his third consecutive double-digit scoring outing. Late in the first overtime, he made what appeared to be the gamewinning basket, a 3-pointer to put the Spurs ahead 111-109 with 2.7 seconds to go.
Maxey responded with a layup on the other end to send the game into another extra frame.
Meanwhile, Champagnie joined a workmanlike club just by taking his spot for the opening tip. Sunday was his 55th start of the season, making Champagnie the sixth undrafted player in club history to hit that number.
The others: Bruce Bowen, Avery Johnson, Bryn Forbes, Fabricio Oberto and Mark Olberding.
“I’m going to just do the little things,” the 22-yearold Champagnie said. “I’m going to be the in-between guy that could make a shot, play hard here, play hard there, just play an all-around game and kind of just fit in where I have to fit in.”
Johnson hurts ailing foot again
Johnson’s night took a turn for the worse even after he took a bit out of Champagnie’s forehead.
The small forward left Sunday’s game midway through the fourth quarter after appearing to reaggravate the left foot sprain that kept him out of the Spurs’ previous three contests.
Johnson did not return to the floor. With four games remaining on the schedule, it would appear unlikely the Spurs would rush him back to finish the season.
If so, the Spurs will face their final four games without three of their top four scorers. Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan have already been ruled out for the season with injuries.
“We feel awful for him,” guard Tre Jones said of Johnson. “He just wants to be out there with us so bad. It’s definitely not an easy one, knowing the competitor he is.”
If Johnson cannot return, he will conclude his fifth NBA campaign with averages of 15.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in 69 appearances. Forty-two of those came off the bench, a sacrifice Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said makes Johnson deserving of credit.
“He showed a lot of leadership in that regard,” Popovich said. “Overall, he’s matured a lot this season and really become one of the elder players mentally, so to speak.”