What the Wembanyama-era Spurs can learn from Caitlin Clark's Fever

Moribund Indiana stayed ready to build around their wunderkind draft pick. The Spurs need to do the same.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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Spanish Ballet; Edouard Manet; 1864

Back before Victor Wembanyama was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs 14 months ago, I argued that the precedent for elite prospects to quickly realize their NBA potential was strong enough that the team should be prepared to win relatively quickly. The strident comparisons were Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Heady company, but some of the most high-status prospects this century alongside Big Vic.

From that piece:

So based on that model, which I’ll admit is optimistic, Wembanyama could be ready to be a superstar level piece by Year 2 or 3. Again: Luka and LeBron each received real MVP consideration and All-NBA honors in Year 2. KD was second in MVP voting in Year 3. And based on recent history (including that involving Young Luka) having one player at this level can get you to legitimate contention without sub-All-Star players around him.

This does not indicate the need for a long runway, a long rebuild around Wembanyama. It speaks to an opportunity to compete at the highest levels of the league very quickly, provided Wembanyama meets those credible expectations and everything else falls into place.

The argument is that LeBron, Luka and Durant were great enough to lead long playoff runs very early in their careers, and so the team that drafted Wembanyama should have eyes on doing the same if he panned out in the way it appeared he might at the time of the lottery.

To say the least, he has panned out. 21-10-4 and a league-best 3.6 blocks as a rookie. No. 2 in Defensive Player of the Year as a rookie. Legitimate voting support for All-NBA as a rookie. One of the craziest rookie highlight sizzle reels ever.

(Warning: this video is 30 minutes long, and it’s really hard to hit pause once you hit play.)

The Spurs were terrible — unprepared to win anything as a team, experimenting with point guard reps, experimenting with position assignments for Wembanyama, trying to add additional high draft picks to the core while Big Vic figured out the league.

Meanwhile, the other high-profile American pro basketball league landed a high-impact rookie as well, and that player’s team has seen some different results.