San Antonio Spurs (2023–present)
On 22 June 2023, Wembanyama was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft. He became the first French player to be drafted first overall, and only the second European player to achieve this distinction (following Andrea Bargnani in 2006). He became the third #1 overall pick by San Antonio in its history, after David Robinson and Tim Duncan.
Wembanyama made his NBA Summer League debut on 7 July against the Charlotte Hornets in front of a sold-out crowd. He recorded nine points and eight rebounds but made only two of 13 shots in a 76–68 win. In his second Summer League game on 9 July, he put up 27 points and 12 rebounds in a 85–80 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. The next day, the Spurs announced that he would sit out for the remainder of the 2023 Summer League.
On 25 October, Wembanyama made his NBA regular-season debut putting up 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in a 126–119 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. His three three-pointers made set a Spurs' single-game team record for a rookie in his debut. On 2 November, Wembanyama put up a then career-high 38 points alongside 10 rebounds, and two blocks in a 132–121 win over the Phoenix Suns. He joined LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the only teenagers in NBA history to put up at least 35 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks in a game. On 5 November, he put up 20 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks in a 123–116 overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors. He became the first Spurs rookie since Tim Duncan to put up 20 points and five blocks in a game. On 18 November, he put up 19 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and eight blocks in a 120–108 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. He joined Tim Duncan and David Robinson as the only players in Spurs history to put up at least eight blocks in a game as a rookie.
On 8 December, Wembanyama put up 21 points and 20 rebounds in a 121–112 loss to the Chicago Bulls. He became the youngest player in NBA history to put up at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game at 19 years and 338 days old, surpassing the previous record set by Dwight Howard. On 13 December, he put up 30 points, 12 rebounds, and six blocks in a 122–119 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. On 17 December, he put up 17 points and 13 rebounds in a 146–110 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. He also surpassed Dwight Howard's record for the most consecutive games with a double-double by a teenager in NBA history with his eighth double-double. On 28 December, he put up 30 points, six rebounds, six assists, and seven blocks in a 118–105 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. He also became the first teenager in NBA history to put up at least 20 points, five rebounds, five assists, and five blocks in a game.
On 10 January 2024, Wembanyama put up his first career triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 130–108 win over the Detroit Pistons. On 12 February, he had his second career triple-double with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 blocks in a 122–99 win over the Toronto Raptors. He became the first player to achieve a triple-double via points, rebounds, and blocks since Clint Capela in 2021. He also became the first player in NBA history to put up a 20-point, 10-block triple-double in fewer than 30 minutes played. On 23 February, Wembanyama put up a five-by-five with 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five steals, and five blocks in a 123–118 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He became the youngest player in NBA history to record a five-by-five and did so in 30 minutes, the fewest minutes played in NBA history to achieve such a feat. On 3 March, he put up 31 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, six blocks, and one steal in a 117–105 win over the Indiana Pacers. He became the first rookie in NBA history to have back-to-back games of at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks. He also joined Tim Duncan and David Robinson (all on the Spurs) as the only rookies in NBA history to put up at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks in a game. On 15 March, he put up 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three blocks in a 117–106 loss to the Denver Nuggets. He joined Raef LaFrentz as the only players in NBA history to put up 200+ blocks and make 100+ three-pointers in a season. He also became the first rookie since Tim Duncan to put up at least 200 blocks in a season. On 29 March, he put up a then career-high 40 points along with 20 rebounds and seven assists in a 130–126 overtime win over the New York Knicks. He finished the season as the first player in NBA history to put up at least 1,500 points, 250 blocks, and 100 made three-pointers in a season. At 3.6 blocks per game, he also became the youngest player to lead the NBA in blocks for a season at 20 years, 101 days (on 14 April, 2024).
On 6 May 2024, Wembanyama was named the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year, becoming the sixth rookie to ever win the award by a unanimous vote. He also joined Manute Bol as the only rookies in NBA history to lead the league in blocks per game and total blocks in a season. Wembanyama also finished second place in voting for the 2024 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, behind Rudy Gobert. Wembanyama was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, becoming the first rookie and youngest player in NBA history to achieve this feat.
On 31 October 2024, Wembanyama had his second career five-by-five, putting up 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals, and five blocks. He became the third player in NBA history to record multiple five-by-five games, joining Hakeem Olajuwon and Andrei Kirilenko. On 4 November, Wembanyama put up a statline of 24 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, three steals and nine blocks, in a 113–104 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers. On 9 November, Wembanyama put up 24 points, 16 rebounds, seven blocks, and shot six-of-nine from three-point range in a 111–110 loss to the Utah Jazz. He also became the first player in NBA history to have multiple games with 20+ points, 15+ rebounds, 5+ three-pointers, and 5+ blocks. On 13 November, Wembanyama scored a career-high 50 points, including a career-high eight three-pointers in a 139–130 win over the Washington Wizards. Aged 20 years and 314 days, he also became the fourth-youngest player to score 50 points in an NBA game, as well as the first player in league history with 20 three-pointers and 13 blocks in a three-game span.
On 21 December, Wembanyama posted 30 points and tied his career-high 10 blocks in a 114–94 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. He became just the sixth player in league history to record 30-plus points and 10-plus blocks in a game, joining Hakeem Olajuwon (5x), David Robinson (3x), Artis Gilmore, Dwight Howard and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. At 20 years and 352 days old, Wembanyama is the youngest player to ever hit the mark, breaking Dwight Howard’s previous record by nearly two years. He became the first player with four 3-pointers and 10 blocks in a game in NBA history. Wembanyama also had a block in 62 straight games, surpassing the franchise record of 61 set by David Robinson. On 25 December, he made his Christmas Day debut, registering 42 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 blocks in a 117–114 loss to the New York Knicks. He became the third player in NBA history to score 40+ points and 15+ rebounds in a Christmas game, after Wilt Chamberlain (1959 and 1961) and Nikola Jokić (2022). He also scored the third-most points for a player in his Christmas Day debut, behind Chamberlain (45) and Tracy McGrady (43).
On 30 January 2025, Wembanyama was named as reserve for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, his first selection. On 20 February, the Spurs shut Wembanyama down for the remainder of the season after discovering deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. At the time the condition was discovered, he was averaging 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and led the NBA with 3.8 blocks in 46 games.
Before the season, Wembanyama spent ten days studying martial arts at Shaolin Monastery, a Buddhist temple in China where kung fu originated. In his season debut on 22 October 2025, he put up 40 points, 15 rebounds, and three blocks in a 125–92 win over the Dallas Mavericks. His 40 points surpassed George Gervin's previous record (39) for the most points scored in a season-opening game in Spurs franchise history. On 30 October, Wembanyama recorded 27 points, 18 rebounds, six assists, and five blocks to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 107–101 victory over the Miami Heat. With the win, the Spurs improved to 5–0, marking the best start to a season in franchise history. On 10 November, Wembanyama put up 38 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, five blocks, and six three-pointers made in a 121–117 win over the Chicago Bulls. He became the first player to put up at least 35 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, five blocks, and five three-pointers made in a game in NBA history. On 12 November, Wembanyama recorded his 4th career triple-double with 31 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Spurs’ 125–120 loss to the Golden State Warriors. He and Stephon Castle became the first pair of teammates in Spurs history to record triple-doubles in the same game. They also became the fifth duo in NBA history to each produce a 20-point triple-double in a game. On 19 December, Wembanyama put up 26 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks in a 126–98 win over the Atlanta Hawks. He recorded his 100th consecutive game with at least one block made, joining Dikembe Mutombo and Patrick Ewing as the only players to record a block in at least 100 consecutive games.
On 19 January 2026, Wembanyama was named a Western Conference starter for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, marking his second consecutive selection and his first as a starter. On 10 February, Wembanyama scored 40 points and collected 12 rebounds in a 136–108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. He poured in 37 points in the first half, the highest-scoring half by a Spurs player in the 21st century, and surpassed Tim Duncan in career 40-point games, recording his sixth such performance. Wembanyama also became the third player in the past 50 seasons to score at least 40 points while playing 27 minutes or fewer. On 19 March, Wembanyama scored 34 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and added three steals, including a game‑winning jumper with 1.1 seconds left to lift the Spurs to a 101–100 victory over the Phoenix Suns and clinch the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2019. On 1 April, Wembanyama recorded 41 points, 18 rebounds, and three blocks in a 127–113 win over the Golden State Warriors. At 22 years and 88 days, he became the youngest player to notch back-to-back 40-point, 15-rebound games and the only player in the past 50 years to record consecutive games with at least 40 points, 15 rebounds, and three blocks. He also tallied 27 points and 13 rebounds in the first half, becoming the first Spurs player with at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in any half since play-by-play tracking began in the 1997–98 season. Wembanyama was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year of the 2025–26 NBA season, becoming the youngest player to ever win it and the first ever player to unanimously win the award in NBA history. He also finished third in the NBA Most Valuable Player Award voting and earned his first All-NBA First Team selection.
On 19 April, Wembanyama made his NBA playoffs debut in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round against the Portland Trail Blazers, registering 35 points, five rebounds and five three-point field goals made in a 111–98 win, setting a franchise record for the most points scored by a Spurs player in their playoff debut, surpassing the previous record set by Tim Duncan.
In Game 2, Wembanyama suffered a concussion after tripping and hitting his head. He was ruled out for Game 3. After beating the Trail Blazers in five games, Wembanyama led the Spurs to their first playoff series win since 2017. He put up 27 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks in Game 4, followed by 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks in Game 5. He became the first player since Patrick Ewing in 1994 to put up consecutive double-doubles with at least six blocks in the playoffs. On 4 May, in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Wembanyama put up a triple-double with 11 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 blocks in a 104–102 loss. His 12 blocks set the record for the most blocks in a playoff game in NBA history, although Wilt Chamberlain is said to have had multiple higher totals before blocks became an officials NBA statistic in 1973, including a 16-block 1969 game. In Game 3, Wembanyama led the Spurs to a 115–108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, posting 39 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks. With the performance, he joined Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players in NBA playoff history to record at least 35 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in a game. Wembanyama reached the milestone in his seventh career playoff game, the fewest playoff games needed to record such a stat line. In Game 4, Wembanyama elbowed Naz Reid in the jaw following an offensive rebound, resulting in a flagrant 2 foul that caused his automatic ejection from the game. It was the first ejection of his career. He finished with four points and four rebounds in 13 minutes played.
On 18 May, in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wembanyama recorded 41 points and 24 rebounds, along with three assists and three blocks, leading the Spurs to a 122–115 double-overtime win. At 22 years and 134 days old, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (46 points, 25 rebounds in Game 5 against the 76ers in 1970) as the youngest player in NBA history to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game. On 30 May, in Game 7, the Spurs defeated the Thunder 111–103 to advance to the NBA Finals. In the game, Wembanyama recorded 22 points, seven rebounds, and five assists despite committing five fouls. Following the series, Wembanyama was named Western Conference Finals MVP after averaging 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.7 blocks on 48 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from three-point range in seven games. The victory marked the Spurs’ first NBA Finals appearance since 2014.
Entering the 2026 NBA Finals down 0–2 to the New York Knicks, the Spurs won Game 3 by a score of 115–111, snapping the Knicks' 13-game winning streak. Wembanyama posted 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals, and three blocks while committing just one turnover. The performance made him the second-youngest player in NBA history to record at least 30 points and five assists in an NBA Finals game, behind only Magic Johnson and ahead of Kobe Bryant. Entering Game 4, Wembanyama posted a double double, where he generated 24 points, 12 rebounds, and one assist in 44 minutes of game-time. During the game, he also tallied up a flagrant foul after aggressively hitting Karl Anthony Towns. This also marked as a negative, yet historic game for the Spurs as the team blew a 29-point lead against the Knicks and allowed them to come back to win the game 107–106. In Game 5, Wembanyama recorded 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks as the Spurs fell 94–90 to the Knicks, losing the series 4–1. In his first NBA Finals appearance, He averaged 26 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1 steal, and 3.6 blocks across the five-game series. Wembanyama finished the playoffs with 78 blocked shots, the third-highest total in a single postseason in NBA history, behind only Hakeem Olajuwon (92 in 1994) and Tim Duncan (79 in 2003).
On July 24, 2026, it was revealed that Wembanyama will be featured on the cover of the September 2026 video game NBA 2K27.
