Victor Wembanyama just signed a five-year, $252 million max rookie-scale extension with the San Antonio Spurs. He could have taken $303 million. He left $51 million sitting there.
That’s not a typo. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Wembanyama’s deal is the standard max, not the supermax he was eligible for if he hit certain benchmarks. And here’s the thing: he probably would have hit them. Last season he played 65 games, won Defensive Player of the Year, finished third in MVP voting, and made All-NBA First Team. He’s 22 years old.
But the Spurs flew their whole front office to France — chairman Peter J. Holt, CEO RC Buford, GM Brian Wright, and coach Mitch Johnson — and Wembanyama signed the smaller number. The contract includes a player option in Year 5.
This is not new for San Antonio. This is basically tradition.
The Tim Duncan Playbook, Still Running
Tim Duncan did it first. As he got older, he took less money so the Spurs could spend on other guys. Before they went to back-to-back Finals in 2013 and 2014, Duncan took a pay cut. Then he did it again so the team could sign LaMarcus Aldridge. That season they won 67 games, a franchise record.
Manu Ginobili did it too. Signed for less than his market value in 2013 and again in 2017. Tony Parker took a team-friendly deal in 2010, right in his prime. Those three won championships together in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014. The first one came in 1999 with Duncan leading the way.
Wembanyama is following that same path. The difference is he’s doing it earlier than any of them.
The current roster around him includes 21-year-old Stephon Castle and 20-year-old Dylan Harper. Both will be eligible for rookie extensions over the next two summers. If the Spurs keep developing young talent and Wembanyama keeps taking team-friendly deals, they could build something that lasts.
The Numbers Are Already Absurd
Wembanyama just helped drag the Spurs to the NBA Finals in his third season. He played 64 regular season games and averaged career highs of 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, a league-leading 3.1 blocks, and a steal in 29.2 minutes a night. He’s only the seventh player in NBA history to average 25 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in a season. He made his second straight All-Star team, this time as a starter. He became the youngest DPOY ever and the first unanimous winner since the award started in 1982-83. He also led the league in blocks for the third straight season. Only two other players have done that.
In his first postseason, over 22 games, he put up 23.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 3.5 blocks, and a steal in 34.1 minutes. He’s the second player ever to reach the NBA Finals in his first playoff appearance after making All-NBA First Team. Elgin Baylor was the other guy.
Over 181 career games, Wembanyama is averaging 23.4 points, 11 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.5 blocks, and a steal while shooting 48.4% from the field, 34.2% from three, and 81.7% from the line. He holds the only two seasons in NBA history where a player put up at least 1,500 points, 150 blocks, and 100 threes. As a rookie he became the first player ever to exceed 1,500 points, 700 rebounds, 250 assists, and 250 blocks while also making more than 100 threes. He was the first rookie to make All-Defensive First Team and the youngest in league history.
The supermax was probably his. He chose not to take it. That’s how the Spurs do things. It worked before.
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