Wembanyama Eager for First NBA Playoff Run as Spurs Face Blazers

Spurs Star Wembanyama eyes glory in first NBA postseason appearance

After a 62-win season, Victor Wembanyama is set for his NBA playoff debut. Spurs open vs Blazers Sunday as heavy favorites.

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is eager to make his NBA playoff debut. After 62-win season, Wembanyama ready for playoff vs Portland...

Victor Wembanyama, whose quick ascent from teenage phenom to superstar has turned the San Antonio Spurs into genuine title contenders, is savoring his first chance at NBA playoff glory.

“This moment is what you work on all year, but also your whole career,” Wembanyama said as the Spurs prepare for their Western Conference first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers - the five-time champion franchise’s first playoff appearance in seven years.

Wembanyama, 22, has led that resurgence which saw the Spurs grab the Western Conference second seed behind defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

Drafted at 19, Wembanyama delivered a brilliant rookie season on a Spurs squad that still struggled, ending the year with 22 wins and 60 losses.

A standout sophomore campaign was cut short due to blood clots in his shoulder.

The alarming diagnosis was another setback for a Spurs team that had already seen longtime coach Gregg Popovich step away after a stroke.

“It means a lot, coming back from a terrible place,” said Wembanyama, who in his third season has firmly established himself among the game’s elite.

He posted a career-best 25 points per game and a league-leading 3.1 blocks as the Spurs, who managed 34 wins in 2024-25, surged to 62 victories.

A frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year and in the Most Valuable Player conversation, Wembanyama has been joined this season by All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox and dynamic shooting guard Stephon Castle.

Fox is the only starter with prior playoff experience, but reserves Harrison Barnes and Luke Kornet bring championship pedigree — Barnes with Golden State in 2015 and Kornet with Boston in 2024.

Wembanyama is already familiar with high-stakes competition.

He said the playoff energy building in San Antonio reminds him of the 2024 Olympics, where France captured silver on home soil in a final versus a U.S. team loaded with NBA superstars.

“You can feel it, for sure,” Wembanyama told reporters after practice on Wednesday. “Everybody is a little bit more locked in. Everybody is a little bit more involved.”

Wembanyama, who sat out several games late in the regular season with a bruised rib, says he’s “very close” to full fitness.

Victor Wembanyama is the third player to lead the NBA in blocks per game in three straight seasons.

He joins Dikembe Mutombo (1993-94 – 1995-96) and Marcus Camby (2005-06 – 2007-08). pic.twitter.com/rUl8ftCWxB

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 13, 2026

“There’s always something going on,” he said. “In terms of regular-season shape, I’m very close.”

The Spurs enter as heavy favorites for the series beginning this Sunday against the Trail Blazers, whose coach Tiago Splitter won an NBA title with San Antonio in 2014.

Wembanyama says he’s trying to focus on the task at hand but admits it’s tempting to look ahead to a potential championship.

“I can't really help but dream about it, but we have to stay grounded, stay in the moment,” he said.