Spurs' Victor Wembanyama reveals 2024 lesson to improve 'crazy natural instincts'
01/03/2025 08:05 AM
Following one of the San Antonio Spurs’ best performances of the season in their last game of the year, several players had a chance to reflect on 2024. For Victor Wembanyama, it’s about maintaining his “craziness”. The most decorated player on the Silver and Black’s roster, Chris Paul, is grateful. Meanwhile, in remembering the year that was, rookie Stephon Castle stressed the need to forget.
Each took the podium following a 122-86 victory vs. the Los Angeles Clippers that served as San Antonio’s largest of the season. It also marked one of the team’s most impressive outings considering LA finished the calendar year sixth in the Western Conference standings with a 19-14 record. The big win lent to an atmosphere in which each Spur who took the post-game podium was open to talking about the year as a whole.
The 17 wins the team accumulated in the 2024 portion of the 2024-25 campaign represents quite the change from one season to the next, as the Spurs went 22-60 in 2023-24.
Spurs players offer individual reflections on 2024
Through the 2024 part of this season, Wembanyama improved on a Rookie of the Year season. His points (21.4/25.6) and blocks (3.6/3.9) per game are both up while his rebounding average is slightly down (10.6/10.0).
His coaches have stressed fundamentals as the key to continued improvement.
“I think I have to trust my instincts because I know the craziness happens by itself and I don’t need to force it,” Wemby says of his knack for coming up with highlight-worthy plays.
“What I need to force is the stuff that’s not natural to me. Some fundamentals, some adjustments regarding the opponents’ defense, some things I need to learn, and once I know them are going to become natural, but it’s important to trust my instincts,” Wembanyama adds.
His starting point guard looks back at 2024 with a sense of thanks.
“The thing I always say: gratitude. I was in a situation last year where I was coming off the bench and not really playing that much, honestly,” Paul shared.
“You’ve just got to stay the course, keep working and I was blessed and fortunate enough to end up here,” the 39-year-old continued, “Not end up here, but it’s always great to be wanted. I’ll never forget my conversation with Pop [Gregg Popovich] the day that I signed to come here. It’s been better than I could’ve ever imagined.”
Paul has repeatedly praised the Spurs young core. He’s made no bones about his constant mentoring of Castle. And while the rookie out of UConn has soaked in all of the 20-year-veteran’s words of wisdom, he’s done his best to forget other moments.
“The biggest lesson that I probably learned, well, I wouldn’t say I learned it once I got to the NBA, but I feel like I’ve used it more recently is just having short-term memory,” Castle stated. “This is a tough league to be good in so you’re not always going to have a great game, so being able to redeem yourself in a short span has been a luxury for me.”
Each affected in their own way by 2024, Castle, Paul, and Wembanyama hope to shape those lessons into a 2025 the Spurs will remember fondly.
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