By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
After debuting calmly in the 2023 NBA Summer League, Victor Wembanyama had one of his attention-getting performances in the second game played with the San Antonio Spurs, leading his team with a double-double losing effort against the Portland Trail Blazers.
In the matchup against Scoot Henderson that everybody was waiting for, the No.3 overall pick didn’t play due to an injury, and all eyes were on the French phenomenon, who dropped 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks while shooting 9/14 from the field.
After the game, the former ASVEL and Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 player said he only wants to concentrate on playing basketball. “I’m probably going to disappear from the media for the next month”, San Antonio Spurs‘ own commented. His fellow countryman and teammate Sidy Cissoko had 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in the 85-80 loss.
Other notable International performances
Both Wembanyama and Cissoko came up against Rayan Rupert, who had 6 points and 2 rebounds for the Portland Trail Blazers. After playing against the No.1 overall pick in the Summer League debut, FC Barcelona’s James Nnaji scored 4 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in the 93-75 loss against the Lakers.
In the 99-76 win by the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Toronto Raptors, Gran Canaria’s own Khalifa Diop had a good showing with 6 points and 9 rebounds. His teammate in Spain Olek Balcerowski, who’s hooping with Boston in the Summer League, had a losing effort of 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists against Washington.
The Polish center faced Tristan Vukcevic and Bilal Coulibaly, who were both in the Wizards‘ starting line-up for the 103-98 win. Partizan Belgrade’s own went close to a double-double of 14 points and 8 rebounds, while the former Wembanyama teammate had 11 points and 5 rebounds. Finally, Brady Manek (10 p, 6 r) faced up against Ismael Kamagate (4 p, 3 r, 2 a) in Atlanta’s 98-93 win against Denver.
TRISTAN. 👀 pic.twitter.com/grrb2rG3hW
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) July 10, 2023