Victor Wembanyama Rumors

Wembanyama, Antetokounmpo Named Players Of The Week

October 27th, 2025 at 3:31pm CST by Rory Maher

Spurs center Victor Wembanyama has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has won the award in the East, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

Wembanyama had a remarkable first week of the season, averaging 33.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists (against just 0.7 turnovers), 1.7 steals and 6.0 blocks in leading San Antonio to an unblemished 3-0 record. The French big man’s shooting slash line was .569/.364/.733.

This is the second time Wembanyama has been named Player of the Week, per the Spurs.

Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee to a 2-1 record last week and put up an absurd stat line of 36.0 PPG, 16.0 RPG, 7.0 APG and 1.0 BPG on .683/.667/.629 shooting.

The Greek superstar claimed his 28th weekly award and became the first player in league history to record at least 100 points, 40 rebounds and 15 assists in the first three games of the season, per the Bucks.

According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. LaMelo Ball, Jalen Brunson, VJ Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey, Donovan Mitchell and Norman Powell were nominated in the East.

And-Ones: Payne, Key, Raman, Breakout Players

October 25th, 2025 at 7:51pm CST by Rory Maher

EuroLeague team Partizan Belgrade has expressed “serious” interest in free agent point guard Cameron Payne, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (via Twitter).

As Stein notes, the Serbian club is looking for a backcourt replacement in the wake of a serious ankle injury to former NBA guard Carlik Jones, who will reportedly miss three months of action.

Payne has spent most of the past 10 seasons in the NBA after being selected 14th overall in 2015. He appeared in 72 regular season games with the Knicks in 2024/25, averaging 6.9 PPG and 2.8 APG in 15.1 MPG.

The 31-year-old went unsigned for nearly the entire offseason prior to catching on with Indiana on October 9. However, Payne didn’t play well during the preseason, and the Pacers decided to waive him before ’25/26 began even though they had (and still have) several backcourt injuries.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Four-year NBA veteran Braxton Key, who spent all of training camp and the preseason with Memphis before being cut last week, has officially signed a rest-of-season deal with Valencia Basket, the Spanish team announced in a press release (hat tip to Eurohoops). The 28-year-old forward was named G League Defensive Player of the Year last season and finished out ’24/25 on a standard contract with Golden State.
Sonia Raman, who was an assistant coach with the Grizzlies from 2020-24 prior to spending last season as an assistant with the WNBA’s New York Liberty, has agreed to a multiyear contract to become the Seattle Storm’s new head coach, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The Storm also compete in the WNBA.
John Hollinger of The Athletic lists 12 players he believes are primed for breakout seasons, including younger stars like Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Lakers guard Luka Doncic, as well as more under-the-radar players such as Raptors big man Sandro Mamukelashvili and Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr. A pair of young Wizards wings — Cam Whitmore and Kyshawn George — are also breakout candidates, according to Hollinger.

Southwest Notes: Harrison, Wembanyama, Fears, Queen, Dumars

October 25th, 2025 at 10:48am CST by Dana Gauruder

The good vibes from the Mavericks‘ draft lottery win in the spring haven’t carried over to the regular season. After consecutive losses to open the year, fans in Dallas are already chanting ‘Fire Nico!’ Those chants, referring to president of basketball operations Nico Harrison, filled American Airlines Center during their 10-point loss to the rebuilding Wizards on Friday, Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes.

“I think they have a right to vent, but there’s a patience [needed],” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “It’s a different team. It’s a new team. We’re just getting to understand each other. We’re going to keep learning each other. “So I would say be patient, but I understand the frustration. We all want to win. We all want to compete at a high level, but it’s a game of expression, and fans have a right to express themselves. But that doesn’t stop us from coming to work tomorrow and getting better and getting ready for Sunday [against Toronto].”

Kidd recently received a multiyear extension but there have not been any discussions about a contract extension for Harrison, according to MacMahon. Harrison has two years remaining on his deal.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Victor Wembanyama came close to a triple-double in the Spurs’ overtime win over New Orleans on Friday with 29 points, 11 rebounds and nine blocks, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News notes. Wembanyama’s big performance came two nights after a 40-point, 15-rebound outburst in the Spurs’ 125-92 season-opening blowout of Dallas. That performance awed this year’s top pick, the Mavs’ Cooper Flagg. “He is incredible. He is a different player,” Flagg said, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN. “You can’t know what it’s like until you’re out there on the court with him. It’s something I’ve never seen before. He was great tonight, but we’ve got to do a better job of trying to just take away some of his looks, and we can’t foul him as much as we did.”
Pelicans first-rounders Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen are already playing meaningful minutes, as Rod Walker of NOLA.com writes. They were on the floor during the final minutes of regulation and most of overtime against the Spurs. Queen played 35 minutes and finished with 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Fears played 29 minutes and had 13 points, four rebounds, two steals and an assist. “I saw a lot of poise from both guys at the end of the game, throughout the whole game really,” Pelicans’ coach Willie Green said. “You can tell they want it.”
The Pelicans’ performances this season after major roster renovations will go a long way in determining how Joe Dumars’ tenure as the lead executive plays out, Walker opines. “Before you can get to the playoffs or a certain amount of wins, the first thing you have to get to is, ‘We compete hard every night,’” Dumars said. “If you don’t establish that in your building first, you’re just talking. You’re just giving quotes out at that point. For me, it’s a process of establishing a hard, competitive playing team every night. Then we will get to the wins and losses.”

Spurs Notes: Biyombo, Kornet, Harper, Waters

October 18th, 2025 at 9:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran big man Bismack Biyombo, who earned a spot on the Spurs‘ roster for the upcoming season, is valued by the organization for more than just his on-court contributions, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. McDonald points to a preseason game this week in which Biyombo enjoyed playing the role of teacher as he was on the court with four young players who are headed for the G League.

“It’s a great group of young guys just to be around and help them out,” Biymobo said. “I think when you enjoy doing what you do, then you can’t call it work. And I enjoy working with good people.”

Biyombo was out of the NBA in February when he received a call from the Spurs, who were seeking help at center after trading Zach Collins to Chicago. Biyombo signed a 10-day deal with the expectation of being a backup, but he was promoted to the starting lineup when San Antonio lost Victor Wembanyama for the season with deep vein thrombosis.

He re-signed this summer on an Exhibit 9 contract that only guaranteed him a spot at training camp. The Spurs saw his influence as a leader late last season and decided to keep him on the roster.

“He is very selfless,” Julian Champagnie said. “He goes on the floor with those young guys and teaches them. He’s directing traffic. Stuff like that’s really valuable.”

There’s more from San Antonio:

“French Vanilla” is the catchy nickname Spurs fans have given to the combination of Wembanyama and free agent addition Luke Kornet, McDonald adds in a separate story. The former Celtics center was brought in primarily to be a backup for Wembanyama, but they’ve been effective in their minutes together. “Having two rim protectors can give you a lot of versatility to make things hard for the teams,” Kornet said. “Then should be a fun time trying to figure it out offensively how to best fit that together.”
San Antonio has several options at point guard, but Dylan Harper is best positioned to be Wembanyama’s long-term partner, observes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. The No. 2 pick in this year’s draft was sidelined for a while following thumb surgery, but he’s already showing signs of stardom since returning. “There’s a reason that there are expectations and thoughts of him before he got to this gym, and I think it’s our job to continue to cultivate that and support that and challenge him,” coach Mitch Johnson said. “He’s obviously shown a knack for sound decision-making and making plays with the basketball in his hands.”
Lindy Waters III will undergo a minor laser eye procedure to correct an issue that was found in his preseason physical, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). Waters won’t be available for opening night, but he’s not expected to miss much – if any – time beyond that.

Spurs Exercise 2026/27 Options On Wembanyama, Castle

October 16th, 2025 at 4:55pm CST by Rory Maher

The Spurs have exercised their 2026/27 rookie scale team options on Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, as Jared Weiss of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).

French big man Wembanyama will now earn $16,868,246 next season in the final year of his rookie contract. He will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer. Former UConn guard Castle, meanwhile, will earn $10,015,920 in ’26/27, which will be his third season.

Given the way the early portions of their careers have played out, both players were locks to have their options picked up.

After earning Rookie of the Year honors and finishing as the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year during his debut in 2023/24, Wembanyama had a superlative second season in ’24/25, making his first All-Star appearance and averaging 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 3.8 blocks in 33.2 minutes per game.

However, shortly after the All-Star break, the 21-year-old center was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis — a blood clot — in his shoulder, cutting his season short. Despite playing just 46 games, Wembanyama still led the NBA in total blocked shots (176) by a wide margin — Brook Lopez was second with 148.

Wembanyama, 21, was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 draft. He was medically cleared to resume full basketball activities in July.

Castle was the second straight Spur to win Rookie of the Year following a debut season in which he averaged 14.7 points, 4.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 81 games, including 47 starts (26.7 minutes per contest). Castle, who turns 21 in a couple weeks, was the fourth pick of last year’s draft.

We’re tracking all of the rookie scale team option decisions for ’26/27 right here.

NBA GMs Expect Thunder To Repeat, Jokic To Win Fourth MVP

October 9th, 2025 at 3:04pm CST by Rory Maher

NBA general managers view the Thunder as the overwhelming favorite to repeat as champions this season, according to the 24th annual GM survey conducted by John Schuhmann of NBA.com. GMs were not allowed to vote for their own team or personnel.

Eighty percent of general managers predicted Oklahoma City to win the 2026 NBA Finals, with the Cavaliers and Nuggets tied for second at 7% each. The Rockets and Knicks were the only other teams to receive votes.

If the Thunder do go back-to-back, they would be the first repeat champions since Golden State in 2018.

Still, it’s worth noting that 83% of GMs thought Boston would win its second consecutive title in 2025 during last year’s edition of the survey, and the Celtics wound up being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.

Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic is heavily favored to win his fourth award in 2025/26. The Nuggets superstar received 67% of the vote and was also tabbed as the league’s best center (maximum possible 97%), best international player (93%), best passer (80%), the player with the best basketball IQ (80%), and the player who forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments (57%).

NBA GMs view Rockets guard/forward Amen Thompson as the league’s most athletic player (58%) and most versatile defender (18%), as well as the player most likely to have a breakout season (30%).

For the second straight year, Spurs center Victor Wembanyama was tabbed as the best player to build a franchise around, receiving 83% of the vote. The French center was also voted the league’s best defender (80%) and tied with Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo for the league’s most versatile player (30% apiece).

Unsurprisingly, Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg is the runaway favorite to win Rookie of the Year, claiming the maximum 97% of the vote. General managers also think he’s the rookie who will be the best player five years from now (93%).

Fifty-three percent of GMs surveyed think the Hawks made the best offseason moves, while 47% believe the Magic will be the most improved team this season.

According to general managers, Milwaukee made by far the two most surprising offseason moves: waiving and stretching Damian Lillard (43%), and subsequently signing Myles Turner in free agency (30%).

Schuhmann’s survey is worth checking out in full and can be found right here.

Southwest Notes: Coward, Vassell, Wemby, Mavs

October 8th, 2025 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

It wasn’t exactly a memorable pro debut on Monday for Grizzlies rookie Cedric Coward, who missed all seven of his field goal attempts, committed three fouls, and was a -22 in 18 minutes of action as Memphis lost to Detroit by a score of 128-112.

Still, while head coach Tuomas Iisalo acknowledged it was a “rough night” for the 22-year-old, Coward and the team were just happy that he was able to get back on the court for the first time since November 2024, as Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal relays. The former Washington State swingman missed most of last season and was held out of Summer League due to a shoulder injury.

“Now that I’ve touched an NBA court, you don’t really have to get your feet wet anymore,” Coward said. “It’s like your first time going swimming. Once you get in the pool, you’re straight. … Ultimately, it’s just getting the rhythm of the game. The shots I did take were shots I liked. That’s why I’m not worried about it. It wasn’t like I was rushing them or anything. They just weren’t falling.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

After dealing with knee and foot issues during the 2023 and 2024 offseasons, Devin Vassell made it through this summer fully healthy and is optimistic about having a bounce-back year in 2025/26 after his numbers dipped a little last season, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “It’s been huge,” the Spurs wing said. “Just being able to come into work every day and even have two-a-days to do certain things that I haven’t been able to do for a while, it’s been good. Strength-wise, conditioning-wise, on-court wise – it’s been a couple of years since I’ve been able to do that.” Vassell added that his goal is to play in all 82 games this season — his career high is 71 in 2021/22.
Michael C. Wright of ESPN is the latest reporter to take an in-depth look at a transformational summer for Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, who explained why the blood clot that ended his 2024/25 season could ultimately be “beneficial.” Meanwhile, Jared Weiss of The Athletic explores how San Antonio’s plan for how to use Wembanyama has evolved, writing that the big man is acting as more of a creator on the wing and looking more like Kevin Durant than Anthony Davis.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd provided a series of injury updates on Tuesday, according to Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. Among them: Dante Exum remains sidelined with an undisclosed injury, and Brandon Williams, who suffered a hamstring strain early in camp, is still considered day-to-day.

Southwest Notes: DFS, Eason, Bey, Spurs, Wemby, Prosper

October 2nd, 2025 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

Confirming previous reporting, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka acknowledged on Wednesday to reporters, including Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required), that newly added forward Dorian Finney-Smith will “probably not” be ready for the start of the season as he recovers from June ankle surgery. According to Udoka, Finney-Smith hasn’t yet been cleared for contact, though he’s doing “all the shooting and other things with treatment as well during practice.”

As Lerner writes, the Rockets are also continuing to manage the workloads of center Steven Adams and forward Tari Eason, who were coming off procedures on their right knee and left leg, respectively, last season and didn’t play in both ends of back-to-backs. Houston won’t have a back-to-back this season until the first week of December and it’s unclear whether or not Adams and Eason will get the go-ahead to suit up for both of those games.

With Finney-Smith sidelined for now, Eason will receive consideration for a spot in the starting lineup this fall, according to Udoka.

“We’ll see,” Udoka said. “Good to have athletic wing defenders that’ll do a lot of things that he does, especially with Dillon (Brooks) being gone, but still to be determined, and we’ll see what works well. It’s not just about starting with me, as you know. It’s about what fits best, as far as our group. He wants to push for that. We want him to as well. And we’ll see if he gets it.”

Udoka has spoken this week about experimenting with different types of lineups, per William Guillory of The Athletic, noting that he could try out a unit featuring Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun, and Adams that would “probably be one of the biggest in the history of the league.”

We have more from around the Southwest:

Jordan Poole was the headliner of the Pelicans‘ offseason trade with Washington, but the team also added veteran forward Saddiq Bey in that deal. Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com explores what Bey, who is returning from an ACL injury that cost him the entire 2024/25 season, can bring to New Orleans, noting that he’s earning praise from his teammates and his new head coach in camp. “He’s sort of that Swiss Army Knife type of player,” Willie Green said. “He can play multiple positions, score, post up, defend, rebound. Those guys are extremely valuable to a team’s success.”
The Spurs were one of the NBA’s worst rebounding teams and put up poor defensive numbers when Victor Wembanyama wasn’t on the court last season. They’re optimistic that the offseason additions of centers Luke Kornet and Kelly Olynyk will help address those issues, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes (subscription required). “We wanted to be able to have that roster versatility to play a bunch of different ways and also protect the paint when Vic’s not on the floor,” general manager Brian Wright said. “I think those guys allow us to do that.”
After recovering from a blood clot and spending time traveling in China and Japan this offseason, Wembanyama embarked upon a training regimen he described as “brutal,” explaining that he wanted to “get my body back,” according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “I can assure you, nobody has trained like I did this summer,” the Spurs star said. “And this is my best summer so far. I can tell the progress is just incredible. I feel better, I look stronger and the scale says I’m heavier. So everything is a green light.”
With Grizzlies big men Jaren Jackson Jr., Zach Edey, and Brandon Clarke all likely unavailable to open the 2025/26 season, new two-way addition Olivier-Maxence Prosper is among the players making a strong case for a rotation role in the frontcourt during camp, head coach Tuomas Iisalo said this week, per Michael Wallace of Grind City Media (Twitter link).

Spurs’ Fox Unlikely To Be Available At Start Of Season

September 29th, 2025 at 1:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs point guard De’Aaron Fox told reporters on Monday at media day that he isn’t expecting to suit up during the preseason or on opening night. After spending the offseason recovering from finger surgery that ended his 2024/25 season, Fox is currently dealing with a hamstring injury, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter video link).

Fox made it clear that he feels “great” and thinks he could be playing now, but suggested the Spurs are taking a cautious approach to his return.

“I don’t think I’ll be ready for opening night,” Fox said. “Well, I think I’m ready. But I don’t have that (medical) expertise.”

As Weiss points out, that makes two Spurs point guards who are at risk of missing the team’s season opener. No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper underwent surgery on his thumb earlier this month to repair a partially torn ligament — his status for the start of the regular season remains up in the air.

Here’s more on the Spurs:

In more positive health news, Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson confirmed that big man Victor Wembanyama has been medically cleared to return by both the team and the NBA after his 2024/25 season ended early due to a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder (Twitter video link via Weiss). “He’s been ramping up. He’s been in a really good place,” Johnson said.
After making a modest 42.8% of his field goal attempts, including 28.5% of his three-pointers, in his first NBA season, improving his shooting efficiency is a goal for reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle in year two, he tells D.J. Siddiqi of ESportsInsider.com. “With live reps, I feel like that’s the best way you can learn is to keep seeing different defenses,” Castle said. “Different variations, options, and on a different possession. Just repping it out, really with a lot of defenders, just getting a lot of shooting reps.”
The Spurs put out a press release on Sunday announcing several promotions and additions within their basketball operations department. Notably, the team has named three new assistant general managers. Senior director of strategic and basketball insight Hao Meng, senior director of basketball strategy Niraj Mulji, and vice president of basketball operations Dave Telep have all been promoted to assistant GM roles.

And-Ones: ESPN Survey, S. Cash, Bargain FAs, More

September 23rd, 2025 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

A panel of 20 coaches, executives, and scouts around the NBA polled by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps overwhelmingly picked Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the current best player in the NBA, with Jokic receiving 19 votes while Lakers guard Luka Doncic earned the last one.

However, the predictions for 2025/26 MVP were more divided — Jokic leads the way with seven votes, but Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (five), Doncic (four), and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama (two) each received multiple votes, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards each got one too.

The panel polled by Bontemps also predicted who will be the NBA’s best player in 2030 (Wembanyama received 16 votes), who will win Rookie of the Year in 2025/26 (Cooper Flagg earned 19 votes), and where LeBron James will be when the 2026/27 season begins — seven respondents expect him to still be a Laker, while five said he’ll be retired and eight believe he’ll be with a new team.

Those coaches, executives, and scouts also believe the Hawks (seven votes) had the best offseason of the NBA’s 30 teams, while the Pelicans (nine votes) had the worst summer. And they nearly unanimously picked the Thunder to repeat as champions. Just two respondents chose the Nuggets to win the 2026 title, while the other 18 stuck with Oklahoma City.

Here are more odds and ends from around the NBA:

After being let go by the Pelicans in April, former WNBA star and veteran NBA executive Swin Cash is joining Amazon Prime Video for the 2025/26 season, according to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. Cash will have the role of “front office insider” on Prime Video’s NBA studio show, then will become a studio analyst for Amazon’s WNBA coverage.
Thomas Bryant, Precious Achiuwa, Alec Burks, and Delon Wright are among the unsigned players identified by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report as bargain free agents who are capable of helping any NBA team.
John Hollinger of The Athletic views the Thunder (62.5 wins), Clippers (48.5), Warriors (45.5), Bulls (32.5), and Jazz (18.5) as the five teams who are the best bets to exceed the over/under win projections set by oddsmakers for the 2025/26 season.