The San Antonio Spurs dropped Game 1 of the NBA Finals to the New York Knicks on Wednesday, and Spurs star Victor Wembanyama had a forgettable showing.
On Thursday, he revealed that he received a text from Spurs legend Gregg Popovich in the aftermath of the loss.
Wemby said Pop texted him a message after Game 1 that essentially said, “I’m bad and that I’m better than this.” pic.twitter.com/pbItfUSCio
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) June 4, 2026
Wembanyama was San Antonio’s leading scorer in Game 1, and he even tallied a double-double, but it still wasn’t the phenom’s night. He was held to just 6-of-21 shooting from the field and 2-of-9 shooting from 3-point range, dampening his final line of 26 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, three blocks and one steal.
This is the first postseason run of Wembanyama’s NBA career, and he has certainly delivered overall. Across 18 playoff games, he has averaged 23.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 49.3 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from deep.
But he wasn’t able to match those shooting percentages in Game 1, which played a role in San Antonio’s loss.
Popovich, the legendary Spurs coach who has now transitioned into a new role as team president, has a strong relationship with Wembanyama that clearly allows him to be honest with the 22-year-old. Wembanyama probably doesn’t need to be told that he needs to be better than he was in Game 1, but any words of wisdom from Popovich are likely to go a long way.
The Spurs are now facing a scenario in Game 2 where they’ll have to deal with some pressure to avoid going into an 0-2 hole. The last thing they want is to drop the first two games of the series before Games 3 and 4 take place in a Madison Square Garden environment that is certain to be chaotic.
A win in Game 2 for the Spurs would even things up at 1-1 and give the team a chance to take control again when the series does head to New York for the following games.
Wembanyama appears to have a brilliant NBA career ahead of him whether he wins a ring this season or not, and having a figure like Popovich in his corner — even if it means there will be some tough love involved — will only help the rising star.
