NBA playoffs 2026: Victor Wembanyama's dominance and a new day for the Spurs

SAN ANTONIO — As Victor Wembanyama ducked under the awning and triumphantly emerged from the tunnel for his pregame warmup ahead of his playoff debut — an entrance that would make Shawn MIchaels proud — the warm embrace of Frost Bank Center became a stage for the arts.

At the same time that a sea of proud onlookers whipped out their phones ready to document a piece of history, Spurs legend Manu Ginobili, tucked away in the southeast corner of the arena with his son, reached for his own mobile device as his smile widened in length.

At that moment, Ginobili wasn’t one of the most decorated figures in the franchise’s illustrious history. Nor was Tim Duncan or David Robinson. They were family members and friends alike, gathered in the house that Gregg Popovich built to see one of their own walk across the stage.

“The first time I stepped on the court for warmups, I felt the atmosphere,” Wembanyama said following the Spurs’ 111-98 Game 1 win over the Blazers. “It was different. Everybody’s ready. The fans are ready. It’s probably the most excited I’ve seen this area, this arena.”

By the time Wembanyama walked off the floor in the final minute to a sea of roaring, rising cheers, the game already decided long before, the Frenchman’s stamp on the evening — and perhaps the series — had been made: 35 points on 13-for-21 shooting in 33 minutes to go along with five rebounds and two blocks. A Portland bench stunned, confused and dazed. In some ways, it felt like a coming-out party. In other ways, it simply felt like a reminder; a continuation of a regular season lost in superlatives, new heights and records. A 22-year-old isn’t supposed to command a five-man group, let alone a gathering of 20,000 people. But this dominance, this elegance, is the new normal.

“I think that there’s an approach that we all have,” Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said, “in terms of an expectation of the level of preparation, detail, nuance, competitiveness, physicality, everything. And I think there’s a real desire from that young man to want to participate in that. This is his first playoff game and he has lofty expectations and goals for himself. Being in the playoffs is squarely a part of that so it’s good to get the first one and get that experience under your belt.”

The unfortunate truth for the Blazers, as they attempt to course correct to avoid an 0-2 hole, is that from a pure structural standpoint, there are a number of similarities between themselves and the Spurs. Both teams share a willingness to let it fly from deep (Portland is fourth in three-point rate, San Antonio is 14th.) Both teams also hunt shots at the rim, among the top seven in rim rate. The Blazers are ninth in pace and Spurs are 12th. And the two teams are among the league’s best in offensive rebounding — Portland being fourth, San Antonio being ninth.