BOSTON — As the Philadelphia 76ers move on from Sunday’s loss to the Boston Celtics, their next challenge comes in the form of 7-foot-4 San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama.
Vembanyama averaged 23.7 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, and contributed a league-leading 2.9 blocks per game, leading the Spurs to second place in the Western Conference. The San Antonio Spurs haven’t made the playoffs since 2019, and Wyoming’s Spurs are about to end that streak in 2026.
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As the Sixers look to prepare for Wemby, they have to hope their defensive scheme can slow him down after issues with Celtics big man Nemeans Queta on Sunday.
“Obviously, he’s an unbelievable player,” head coach Nick Nurse said of Wembanyama after Sunday’s loss. “Obviously, they actually have a really good team that’s playing really well. They’re one of the hottest teams in the league. Obviously, I’ve watched him a lot. I haven’t gotten into it yet. We’ll start doing that on the way home tonight, but, yeah, I think we’re going to have to figure out who’s going to guard him and probably have a lot of guys to take the challenge, and then hopefully we can continue to play some good offense and make some more shots.”
Nurse does believe the Sixers are good enough to win Sunday, but the shooting isn’t falling. This happens sometimes. Philadelphia shot just 39.8 percent, was outrebounded 59-37 and gave up 30 second-chance points. This will hamper Philadelphia’s game against the Spurs.
Andre Drummond will likely face off against Wembanyama regularly on Tuesday as Joel Embiid continues to be sidelined. His focus is winning. Not the game against Wemby.
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“Win the game,” Drummond said after a pause. “Win games. I mean, obviously, he’s the best player on the team, but my focus, I think the focus of our team, is just finding how to beat this team. I feel like they’re a great team. We’re a great team. So, we’re going to go out and play to the best of our ability.”
As Nurse said, the Spurs are more than just Wembanya. The Spurs’ All-Star player De’Aaron Fox, Stephen Castle, Devin Vassell and others all performed well. The 76ers must be ready.
“Tottenham are one of the best teams in the league,” added rookie VJ Edgecombe. “Obviously, they have great talent all over the place. Let’s move forward from this game. Learn from it. Know who we’re going to play next and try to get back on the winning track. That’s the most important thing. It’s a long season. The season is coming to an end and these wins are important, especially if you want to get into the playoffs and get a good seed, so yeah. No matter who we play against. We’ve got to go, no matter who it is, we’ve got to play hard.”
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wired: Sixers reflect on upcoming game against Spurs Victor Wembanyama
