The giant Wembanyama is in full readiness

Thanks to his movements and enthusiastic performance, the towering player (2.24 m) ignited the enthusiasm of the crowd in Texas when he received an alley-oop pass from his teammate Stephon Castle, spun in the air, and scored a spectacular basket.

His three-pointer and success in defensive rebounds, along with the brilliant performance of his teammate Dylan Harper who scored 16 points in 19 minutes, adding 4 rebounds and a steal, contributed to giving the Spurs a 67-62 lead at the end of the first half, after having led by 19 points at the end of the first quarter.

Wembanyama spent the second half of the match on the bench, and center Luke Kornet replaced him for a quarter of an hour, then coach Mitch Johnson rotated the lineup and rested the prominent players, led by "Wemby".

The Atlanta Hawks took advantage of this situation to come back in the score and win the preseason game for the new season with a score of 123-116.

Spurs player David Jones delivered a remarkable performance by scoring 14 points and grabbing 4 rebounds in 15 minutes, and young newcomer Carter Bryant (20 years old), drafted by the team in the 2025 draft, contributed by scoring 11 points and grabbing 5 rebounds.

Wembanyama was crowned Defensive Player of the Year last season and finished third in the MVP voting.

The San Antonio Spurs are scheduled to play four more preseason games before the new season tips off on October 20 when they face the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Spurs had finished the 2025-2026 regular season with the second-best record in the league behind Oklahoma, with 62 wins against 20 losses.

Thanks to Wembanyama's brilliance, the team is considered one of the top contenders for the title this season, after stumbling at the final hurdle last year by losing to the New York Knicks 1-4 in the finals series.