NBA superstars such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant are on the back end of legendary careers, but the league looks to be in a good place with the next generation of stars, such as Luka Dončić, Anthony Edwards, and Victor Wembanyama, taking up the mantle. Wembanyama, who hails from France, in particular, seems extraordinarily well-positioned to become the global face of the sport and has led the San Antonio Spurs to the Finals in just his third season in the NBA.
However, seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry preached patience before anointing Wemby as the face of the league ahead of Game 1 of San Antonio’s Finals series against the New York Knicks.
“He’s great. I’m not saying he’s not great, he’s a great defensive player, but all I’m saying is they trying to make him like he is God’s gift to basketball,” Horry said on the Road Trippin podcast. “I’m just saying, give him time. Let him mature. Let him take it. Don’t give it to him. Let him take it… If he wins two championships in the 3-4 years, then he’s the face of the league.”
If Game 1 of the Finals was any indicator, Horry’s caution is warranted. Wemby struggled in a 105-95 loss, scoring 26 points on just 6-for-21 shooting. The NBA’s first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year winner also struggled to contain Karl-Anthony Towns on the other end of the floor. So much so that First Take analyst Kendrick Perkins feels Towns “exposed” him.
“I’mma tell the Spurs fans this, y’all got a problem,” Perkins said on Thursday’s episode of ESPN’s flagship debate show.
“The Defensive Player of the Year got exposed last night. And I’mma say this,” he added. “I’mma say this. Yes, Towns played the best defensive game of his life last night, but offensively, he showed the world that Wemby can’t guard him.”
Kendrick Perkins says KAT EXPOSED Victor Wembanyama last night:
“Imma tell the Spurs fans this, y’all got a problem. Y’all have a serious problem. The DPOY got exposed last night…. He showed the world that Wemby can’t guard him!” pic.twitter.com/HcG8DbOlJE
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) June 4, 2026
“He is a matchup problem for the Spurs. The way his ability to stretch the floor, and then he showed his versatility by his ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. He was going through Wemby’s chest. He wasn’t shying away from physicality. And when they decided to put a smaller player on him, guess what the Knicks did? They searched him out. Here we go, go to you. And when Wemby came to double, he was dropping no-looks, he was dropping passes, he was finding shooters. And I’mma say this, Karl-Anthony Towns is not going to stop.”
For his part, Wembanyama isn’t overly bothered with any of the things that have caused concern amongst analysts, and believes he just needs to be better moving forward in the series.
“We are going to be so much better, I’m going to be so much better,” he said in his postgame presser.
The young Frenchman’s confidence is partly because this isn’t uncharted territory for Wembanyama and the Spurs, who lost Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder before winning the Western Conference Semifinals series in six games. Wembanyama will have a chance to back up his words and silence Perkins and any other pundits in Game 2 on Friday night.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.