How NBA Teams Can Stop Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, According to an Anonymous Scout

• Editor’s Note: For the upcoming Sports Illustrated 2026–27 basketball preview magazine that will hit newsstands in October, SI spoke to anonymous scouts around the NBA about all 30 teams.

The NBA is officially in its Victor Wembanyama era after the French phenom led the Spurs to the Finals in just his third season.

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San Antonio couldn’t get the job done as no team could stop the red-hot Knicks, who cruised through the playoffs with a vengeance. However, at just 22 years old, Wemby led his franchise through the Western Conference in his maiden playoff appearance. He’s a true outlier with every tool available combined with his outlandish frame.

The rest of the league will need to figure out how to stop him for the next decade-plus, which is no small task. New York did a solid job of that on its way to the title, which “laid the blueprint on how to attack him,” an anonymous scout told Sports Illustrated.

“Draw him out to the corner,” the scout said. “And that whole series, he was getting off-balance with shot fakes and getting beat on closeouts. OG Anunoby did a great job finishing against him at the rim, using him as a protection, stuff like that.

“So I’d be curious to see if teams take the same approach the Knicks did during the regular season when you don’t have much time to prepare. But they really tired him out by just moving him around, attacking him. They were putting him in ball screens early in the possession, which is kind of the thing that common sense would tell you not to do. But they would put him in that screen, move him around, and I thought they did a good job of wearing him out.”

Still, there comes a point where teams can’t fully minimize Wembanyama. He’s too big, too dominant. Against the Knicks, he still averaged 26.0 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game over the Finals. He was the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year and finished third in MVP voting after minor ailments kept him out at times over the course of the season and put him under minutes restrictions once he was back on the court.

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In the 2026–27 season, he’s a bona fide MVP candidate who’s already in the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić tier-a group that has taken home MVP honors in five of the past six seasons. Wemby’s lined up for his best year yet with a chip on his shoulder after coming so close to his first NBA title, a feat that seems like an inevitability at this point.

“Wembanyama is going to have a monster regular season,” the scout said. “If the Spurs take the minutes restrictions off, he’s going to put up some ridiculous numbers. We can assume that he’s a little stronger and healthier, and will get a bump just from that.”

San Antonio’s guard room is just as exciting. Last year’s No. 2 pick Dylan Harper was extremely impactful over his rookie season, especially over the course of the playoffs. Stephon Castle took a step forward in his second NBA season as a scorer, facilitator and a perimeter defender. The Spurs’ young guards can both improve as shooters, but Harper and Castle look like an elite backcourt to put next to Wemby for the foreseeable future.

Their emergence makes De’Aaron Fox and his large extension a conundrum. Fox was an All-Star last year as he averaged 18.6 points per game over the regular season, but he took a step back in the postseason and looked absent at times, especially after he returned from an ankle sprain late in the playoffs. His four-year, $221.7 million contract extension kicks in next year, which puts San Antonio in a pickle if he’s not traded eventually as the Spurs need to pay Castle and Harper.

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The Fox situation isn’t an immediate issue for the Spurs, but it could become glaring if he struggles at points next season. I mean, one All-Star guard and two (likely) future All-Stars on the same roster isn’t a problem, right? Not for now, at least.

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“I don’t think it’s a problem in the regular season. I think there’s enough minutes to go around. I mean, you just rotate the three of them,” the scout told SI. “I’m sure there’s enough ball to go around. Wemby’s still the kingpin of the team, so they’re not fighting over that No. 1 spot. I think the issue will come in the playoffs when it’s closing time. Can they play all three? Probably not. It depends on their playing, but then they have to make a decision and it’s obviously going to be tougher to sit Fox. Maybe the 82 games will dictate that Harper and Castle have arrived and it’s their time.”

Offseason recap

• Who’s in: Tobias Harris, Jayden Quaintance (draft), Tarris Reed Jr. (draft), Harrison Barnes (re-signed), Julian Champagnie (re-signed), Jordan McLaughlin (re-signed), Victor Wembanyama (five-year extension)
• Who’s out: Lindy Waters III (overseas), Kelly Olynyk (remains unsigned), Bismack Biyombo (remains unsigned), Mason Plumlee (remains unsigned)

A relatively quiet offseason for the Western Conference champs. Priorities one, two and three were figuring out a contract extension for Wemby as he became eligible this summer. In July, he agreed to a five-year, $252 million extension with San Antonio. He took about $50 million less than his true maximum to bring his team some financial flexibility to keep a title contender on the floor over the course of the deal.

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Former Pistons forward Tobias Harris is the one true external acquisition, and he’ll be a true impact player that fills a need at forward after stepping up for Detroit in the playoffs last season. Otherwise, San Antonio’s most important move was retaining Julian Champagnie. He broke out as a key starter over the regular season and had a huge run in the playoffs as a sharpshooter and formidable defender.

The Spurs lost no rotation players over the offseason, only bolstering a roster that already came three wins away from a championship. Kentucky product Jayden Quaintance, the 20th pick in the draft, will need some time as he’s already sidelined as he recovers from surgery to repair a torn meniscus. UConn big man Tarris Reed Jr. could play a role immediately, though, as the Spurs could use a third big as end-of-the-bench centers Kelly Olynyk and Bismack Biyombo remain free agents, unlikely to return.

SI’s prediction for the 2026–27 Spurs

• Record: 63–19

Let’s not beat around the bush. The Spurs are going to be darn good once again.

Wemby’s still an alien, Harper and Castle will only get better and Fox still packs a scoring punch, no matter his postseason struggles. I’m quite bullish on the Harris acquisition and Champagnie has become an elite floor spacer. That’s before we even mention Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson, who was last season’s Sixth Man of the Year.

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Health is the only thing that can stop the Spurs from keeping up as a true title threat. The main question: Can the Spurs finish ahead of the Thunder next season? Oklahoma City was two games ahead in the win column last year even though San Antonio had its number during the regular season. Home court matters despite the Spurs winning Game 7 of the Western Conference finals on the road. The two powers will be neck-and-neck once again. We can only hope we get the second edition of a Thunder-Spurs playoff series in what’s already turned into the NBA’s best rivalry.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as How NBA Teams Can Stop Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, According to an Anonymous Scout.

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This story was originally published September 17, 2026 at 5:49 AM.