Victor Wembanyama's voice was steady but the message was clear after the San Antonio Spurs dropped Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals 123-108 at home, falling into their first series deficit of these playoffs at 2-1.
The 21-year-old, who was named unanimous Defensive Player of the Year earlier this month, finished with only seven first-quarter points and went without a two-point field goal until the third. Isaiah Hartenstein bodied him at every catch. Asked by reporters what the Thunder were doing to limit him, Wembanyama refused to blame the officials or the physicality.
"I feel like I have trouble making my teammates better right now," Wembanyama said. "If that's what I should do better, my shooting splits aren't terrible. I need to be more of a team player."
Pressed on what he meant by being a better teammate, the seven-foot-five forward broke it down. "Facilitate better, you know, rebound the ball better, get more, you know, like push their defense a little bit further and see how much they're willing to help off of my teammates and feed them," he said.
Wembanyama also rejected the idea that he or his team-mates would let frustration creep in after Devin Vassell and AJ Mitchell both got tangled up in third-quarter double technicals.
"No, there's no place for frustration," Wembanyama said. "It's annoying, of course, but we're going to use that, you know, as energy."
The Thunder's blueprint has been physical and team-wide. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said that approach is the inevitable counter to a player Wembanyama's size. "At seven-five to be as slim as he is, I don't give a damn who you are, whatever the opposing team is, if you have somebody remotely in the same size stratosphere as him, what you're going to do is try to use physicality to your advantage," Smith said. "That's what Isaiah Hartenstein has been doing to him the last two games and it's been somewhat effective."
Former NBA champion Iman Shumpert offered Wembanyama a tactical adjustment. "The mid-range game is something that people don't understand, but it can slow everything down," Shumpert said on Sports Center. "The only thing that San Antonio could do to help improve anything for Victor Wembanyama is to make sure that he can get to his mid-range. Even if I got to kiss it off the glass, a controlled 15 to 18-footer is what he needs to go to."
Wembanyama acknowledged the Thunder are simply better prepared for him than past playoff opponents. "They're being physical. The difference maybe with this team is their experience," he said. "They may be being more smart about it. But we got, I mean, we just got to find the answers. We're going to watch film. We got to figure it out."
Asked how he was holding up physically in his first deep postseason run, Wembanyama smiled. "I feel good. My shape, I'm in good shape, you know. I don't have no red alert on my body, so it's good. Got to sustain the shape."
Game 4 in San Antonio tips off on Sunday, with the Spurs still managing De'Aaron Fox's right ankle and Dylan Harper's bumps from a heavy Game 1 workload.
