Wembanyama Says Spurs’ Finals Loss Was the Biggest Lesson of His Career

Victor Wembanyama said the San Antonio Spurs’ 4-1 loss to the New York Knicks in the Finals was the hardest lesson of his life, after New York won Game 5, 94-90, on Sunday morning. The Spurs entered the series with huge expectations, but Wembanyama said the team fell short after controlling much of the matchup.

Speaking at the postgame press conference, the star was visibly frustrated and said, “You can’t compare this to anything. This is the biggest lesson I’ve received in my life, I’ll learn from it and I am still learning, more than ever before in my life.” He added that it had been “a hell of a year” in terms of experience and that the team could not have gained much more from a single season.

Wembanyama said the defeat was deeply painful, but he intends to use it as motivation. “It hurts so much,” he said, “but I am not running away from it, I am using it to fuel myself.” He said he believes veteran champions also were not satisfied when they lost their first title chance.

He also said he was surprised by the repeated pattern in the series. “One of the things I learned is that the margin for error is very small,” Wembanyama said. “We controlled most of this series, but our mistakes caused us to be punished so hard. You cannot make that many mistakes. That is why we lost.”