After missing the San Antonio Spurs’ final 30 games last season due to deep vein thrombosis, Victor Wembanyama made his much-awaited on-court return in the team’s ‘25-’26 season opener.

It has been eight months since Wembanyama played in an official NBA game, but there were no signs of rust at all. Wembanyama spent the offseason training with Shaolin monks and Hakeem Olajuwon which made it clear that he is willing to do whatever it takes to become great. 

Wembanyama’s season debut made it all the more clear that his leap to superstardom is already underway. He put up 40 points, a three-pointer, 15 rebounds, a steal, and three blocks in only 29 minutes to lead the Spurs past the Dallas Mavericks. Two of these blocks came against Dallas’ star forward Anthony Davis early in the first quarter which helped set the tone for the rest of the night.

On offense, the 23-year-old Wembanyama was brilliant throughout the contest as he attacked the Mavericks’ defense in every way possible. He hit several mid-range jumpers, showed off some of the footwork that he learned from Olajuwon, and had a couple of emphatic dunks that should qualify for the evening’s highlight reel.

To put it simply, he was unstoppable.

There were times when one could have mistaken Wembanyama for a guard because of his fluid movements, though his notable height difference quickly reminds observers that he is far from it.

The Spurs might not be considered contenders in the West yet, but if Wembanyama continues on his path to stardom as expected, they just might make enough progress to barge into the play-in race. The young core that they are putting together around Wembanyama–led by Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and Devin Vassell–is highly complementary of his talents and this group will only grow more comfortable as each game passes.

What’s worrisome for the rest of the NBA is that Wembanyama and this San Antonio team is just getting started. If he can stay healthy, they are going to be contenders as early as next season and for at least the next decade. Wembanyama is truly a special talent and it is only going to get more and more difficult for teams to figure out how to stop him or, at the very least, slow him down.