“I wasn’t ready to win” an NBA title, said Victor Wembanyama after his defeat on Saturday in the final with the San Antonio Spurs against the New York Knicks. (See box below)
Defeated 94-90 by the Knicks who won the series 4-1, Wembanyama delivered a lucid analysis of his final at a press conference, he who was playing his first play-offs at the age of 22.
“Obviously we weren’t ready, I wasn’t ready to win a ring, that’s obvious. In terms of desire to do well, intensity, effort, we were at a good level, me too. But experience… It’s the mistakes, we don’t lack talent or ability, but we make too many mistakes, I make too many mistakes,” he conceded.
After leading every game in the final, the Spurs lost four out of five, showing feverishness in key moments, unlike the Knicks. “Wemby” ended its season on Saturday with its worst offensive performance of the series with 19 points, including only 3 in the last quarter.
“This is the greatest lesson of my life. I will learn more than ever,” he stressed.
The Frenchman said he was “annoyed” by the fact “that at least 100 matches” separate him from a possible new final in 2027, thinking of the regular season which will begin in the fall.
“I’m going to have to keep this feeling in me, slow down, perform well for 100 matches,” he breathed.
“One of the things I learned is that the margin for error is very fine,” he added. “We dominated the majority of the series, but our mistakes were punished harshly. You can’t have such big ups and downs.”
Asked to look forward to his summer of training, “Wemby” said he wanted to “work even harder to be more sustainable”.
“I want to keep my mind fresh, keep control of the game all the time. “That’s what stands out about Jalen Brunson,” the Knicks leader elected MVP of the finals, he praised.
“There are too many moments where I am passive, where I don’t have the control over the game that I would like to have, and it costs me.”
A legendary Jalen Brunson
The New York Knicks of a legendary Jalen Brunson (45 points) won their third NBA title, the first in 53 years, by winning against Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
A 94-90 success once again snatched in the final minutes allowed the Knicks to win the final 4-1 to complete an exceptional final phase spring.
Like the rest of the series, Victor Wembanyama did not find the solution against the New Yorkers, finishing with 19 points, but only 3 in the last quarter, 14 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 blocks.
The 22-year-old Frenchman, for his first play-offs in his third NBA season, managed to take his young Spurs to the final, but largely stumbled on the last step against a more experienced and much more effective collective in key moments.
Knicks leader Jalen Brunson (29) was exceptional in finishing the job, the former player drafted only in 33rd position in 2018, son of Rick Brunson, who played with the Knicks in the franchise’s last final, lost in 1999 to the Spurs.
New York coach Mike Brown, who arrived in the offseason, was one of Gregg Popovich’s Spurs assistants in 1999.
After more than half a century of disillusionment, the New York franchise with electric fans has finally won its third trophy after 1970 and 1973, promising a Dantesque night of celebration in Manhattan.
