The San Antonio Spurs had overcome some large obstacles to land themselves in the NBA Emirates Cup Finals next Tuesday. First they took Western Conference C, dubbed the “Group of Death” which consisted of the Spurs, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Golden S tate Warriors. Nuggets and Rockets are currently third and fourth in the Western Conference respectively. The Golden State Warriors, who’ve won four titles over the last decade are always a threat, especially with Steph Curry on the floor. In fact, the Spurs only loss was against the Warriors, in the first game of Cup competition. In the Quarterfinals, they upset Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and the Los Angeles Lakers on their own court to punch their ticket to Las Vegas. But last night, with the return of Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs made a statement in front of the entire NBA. With basketball royalty watching, the Spurs – who started slow – looked defeated and out of sorts during the first quarter. They missed their first dozen threes and turned the ball over at a high clip. Then Victor stepped onto the court. His first order of business was to lead the Spurs on a 9-2 run, resetting the game. It wasn’t all smooth as Wemby struggled with turnovers. But with a +/- of positive 21, the Spurs were most successful when he was on the court. Wemby, known for his defensive prowess, continued his legendary streak of 98 games with at least one block. And no block was bigger than his rejection of Chet Holmgren, his rival. @bleacherreport WEMBY REJECTS HOLMGREN 😤 #nba #basketball #nbabasketball #wemby ♬ original sound – bleacherreport Prime Video studio analyst Udonis Haslem simply stated, “They are here.” In their first game as a full team, the Spurs ended the reigning champions 16-game winning streak and knocked them out of Emirates Cup competition. No one denies Wemby’s greatness, and the Spurs were successful while he was sidelined. But the first half made it clear — the Spurs need Victor Wembanyama. And the second half said it all, the Silver Black should not be underestimated. Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here. Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language. ...read more read less