PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Already a bit of a worldly traveler, Victor Wembanyama recently posted a slideshow of photos on Instagram of his first experience in Alaska seeing the northern lights.
“The show I had was I think a historic, maybe a once-in-a-lifetime event even for northern lights chasers,” he said. “It was the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in my life. Ranks No. 1.”
Kind of the way the Spurs feel about Wembanyama.
The once-in-a-lifetime generational talent — go on, we’ll wait for the rest of the list of 7-foot-4 All-Stars out of Le Chesnay, France — has the Spurs in the thick of the NBA championship conversation over their final 21 games of the season.
While perhaps not as beautiful as an aurora borealis, the Spurs went a sparkling 8-1 on their near month-long road trip, necessitated annually while the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo camps out in their arena. Behind 18 3-pointers and 22 points from star rookie Dylan Harper, the Spurs punctuated the road finale on Tuesday night with a 131-91 romp past the undermanned and overwhelmed Philadelphia 76ers.
The Spurs posted their largest win since February 2018 and improved to an NBA-best 12-1 since Feb. 1. The Spurs led by as many as 49 points and made the 76ers the first team in NBA history to lose three home games by 40-plus points in a season.
“When we’ve committed to just not getting bored with our success at times and staying with what’s working,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said, “we’ve had some really good stretches.”
The only ones who looked bored in Philly were the Sixers fans who fled for the exits after three quarters. The ones who stuck around gladly booed their team off the court at the final horn.
San Antonio earned the bounce-back win it wanted after its 11-game winning streak was snapped Sunday against the New York Knicks. It was the Spurs’ first loss since Jan. 31 at Charlotte.
No worries against the 76ers about a losing streak.
“What happened in New York, I think we wanted to prove to everyone that we’re still here,” Harper said.
The Spurs were 11-0 in February, becoming the first team in NBA history to go unbeaten and score at least 110 points in every game while playing at least 10 in a month.
The clean sweep extended to the NBA monthly awards.
Harper was named the top rookie out of the West; Johnson won the coaching award and Wembanyama was player of the month. Wembanyama averaged 22.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in the month while Harper, the No. 2 pick of the draft, won on the strength of 12.5 points and 4.9 assists in the month.
All the winning helped the Spurs race to a 44-17 record and second place in the West, three games behind the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder headed into Wednesday night’s games. Even better, the Spurs now get to enjoy the comforts of home when they open a six-game homestand Thursday against Detroit.
“We need that new arena,” Harper said of the extended road trip. “That’s the biggest thing I’ve learned.”
Johnson laughed when Harper’s comment was relayed to him — understandable perhaps because it really is the rookie’s first rodeo.
“He’s been here for two seconds,” Johnson said with a laugh. “He doesn’t have a vote yet.”
The Spurs’ planned downtown arena got a green light in November from Bexar County, Texas, voters who approved a plan that allowed officials to commit up to $311 million in venue taxes to help build a multipurpose arena. The Spurs have said they will commit at least $500 million toward construction of an arena, plus cover all overruns — which could be significant.
The road suited the Spurs just fine, after all the Spurs also went 8-1 on the trip when they won the 2003 title. The All-Star break was sprinkled in the midst of the trip, giving Wembanyama time to shine in the revamped version of the All-Star game before his quick getaway to Alaska to soak in the ever-changing lights. He’s still ready to return to San Antonio.
“Sleeping in my own bed,” Wembanyama said. “Eating my chef’s food. Getting back into the normal routine, the normal life.”
It’s the Spurs who are cooking these days in the NBA.
Wembanyama said he was dazzled by the lights because “it’s just something that looks so out of place,” sort of like the five-time NBA champion Spurs did in the league hierarchy as they missed the playoffs each of the last six seasons.
Just ask the 76ers. Wembanyama has the Spurs back among the elite.
“TV don’t do him justice,” Sixers All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey said.
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