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Michael C. Wright, ESPN Staff WriterOct 8, 2024, 10:12 PM ET
- Joined ESPN in 2010
- Previously covered Bears for ESPN.com
- Played college football at West Texas A&M
SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama and new addition Chris Paul will make their preseason debuts for the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic at the Frost Bank Center.
The duo sat out Monday’s exhibition opener to rest. Devin Vassell (foot), Charles Bassey (knee), Zach Collins (shoulder) and David Duke Jr. (hip) also missed that game, a 112-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Spurs coach Gregg Popovich pointed to “dings, rest, a little bit of everything” when explaining his reasoning for sitting Wembanyama and Paul on Monday after what he described as “a tough week” of training camp practices.
Vassell, Bassey and Collins, meanwhile, continue to ramp up their workloads after undergoing offseason surgeries. They, along with Nathan Mensah (right adductor), will be unavailable for Wednesday’s contest.
Wembanyama is entering his second season after a historic rookie year in which he averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and a league-leading 3.6 blocks.
Victor Wembanyama, Chris Paul and Devin Vassell watched Monday night’s preseason opener in street clothes from the Spurs bench. Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
The Spurs signed Paul, 39, to a one-year deal in July, bringing aboard veteran leadership as the team looks to build around Wembanyama, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year. Paul enters his 20th NBA season and ranks No. 3 all time in assists (11,894).
“I’m just excited like everybody else to get a chance to play alongside [Wembanyama] along with a lot of the other guys on the team,” Paul said. “With him, it’s going to be [about] just trying to help him settle in more.”
