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Victor Wembanyama says he has not recovered from Spurs' NBA Finals defeat
The San Antonio centre says the loss to the Knicks is still with him, even as he talks up the team's position before the season.
Daiei Onoguchi · CC BY 4.0Victor Wembanyama has said he has not recovered from the San Antonio Spurs' defeat by the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. Speaking on Monday, the Spurs centre described the aftermath in terms of 'hard emotions', and made clear the loss is still with him. In the same remarks he said the team is in a 'great spot' going into the season and that he is 'very hopeful' about it.
Those two positions are not contradictory, but they are doing different jobs. One is a statement about how a Finals defeat sits with a player who was on the floor for it; the other is a statement about the group he is returning to. Wembanyama offered both without ranking them, which leaves the emphasis open to interpretation.
2025-26
Season 2025-26
Why the Knicks defeat still shapes the Spurs
Timothy Holdiness · CC BY-SA 4.0New York won the championship at San Antonio's expense, which makes that series the benchmark the Spurs will be measured against until someone takes it from them. Players who carry a loss this way often turn it into a standard for the work that follows, and Wembanyama's refusal to file the defeat under useful experience fits that pattern. That is a reading of his words rather than something he stated; whether the feeling is motivating or weight-bearing will only be clear once games are played.
The optimistic half of the message is harder to assess from outside. Wembanyama did not set out what has changed to justify it, and he gave no detail on what a 'great spot' means in practice, for the roster, for expectations or for his own role. As it stands the phrase signals confidence in the group rather than a prediction about results.
What is not yet known
Daiei Onoguchi · CC BY 4.0- When Wembanyama expects the disappointment to ease, or what would count as having moved on.
- What he believes has improved at the Spurs since the Finals.
- Whether San Antonio share his assessment publicly; the club has not issued a statement on his remarks.
- Whether the Knicks or the NBA have responded to what he said.
- The setting of the comments has not been established, including whether they came at a media session or in a smaller round of interviews.
What happens next
San Antonio's first competitive games of the new season will be the first honest test of whether the defeat has been absorbed or merely set aside. Wembanyama has set the expectation himself: a team he considers well placed, led by a player who is not pretending the loss is behind him. Neither the club nor the Knicks have said anything further, and no date has been given for when he might next speak publicly.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does Victor Wembanyama still have 'hard emotions' about the NBA Finals?
- Because the Spurs lost the championship series to the Knicks, and Wembanyama has said he has not recovered from it. He has not put a timescale on when that might change.
- Who did the San Antonio Spurs lose to in the NBA Finals?
- The New York Knicks, who took the title at San Antonio's expense. Wembanyama's comments on Monday concerned that series.
- What did Wembanyama say about the Spurs' prospects for the season?
- He said the team is in a 'great spot' and that he is 'very hopeful' about the campaign ahead. He did not explain which parts of the team's position he was referring to.
- Have San Antonio or the Knicks responded to Wembanyama's comments?
- San Antonio have not issued a public statement about his remarks, and there has been no response from the Knicks. No date has been set for either to address them.
