Report: Victor Wembanyama Not Expected to Play for Spurs in NBA Summer League 2023

The San Antonio Spurs are expecting presumptive No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama to sit out the 2023 NBA Summer League, according to LJ Ellis of SpursTalk.

The team would prefer to rest the 19-year-old since the LNB Pro A finals are still ongoing. Wembanyama and Metropolitans 92 trail AS Monaco Basket 2-0 in the best-of-five series, which could extend as far as June 20.

The Dallas Mavericks were in a similar position after they added Luka Dončić through the 2018 draft.

Dončić was competing with Real Madrid through mid-June, which didn't give him much turnaround time before NBA Summer League tipped off. The Mavs listed him on their summer league roster, but he didn't actually suit up.

Basketball fans will undoubtedly be disappointed in the likely event Wembanyama doesn't play in Las Vegas or Sacramento, California, but it would be the sensible call from the Spurs' perspective.

In terms of easing his transition to the NBA, the summer league probably doesn't accomplish much. It's a small handful of games against a level of competition well below a regular-season standard.

Skipping summer league didn't preclude Dončić from balling out as a rookie. He averaged 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists in his first season en route to winning Rookie of the Year.

For San Antonio, the dangers of overly taxing Wembanyama are simply too great. The last thing the team needs is for the 19-year-old to get injured before the 2023-24 season even starts.

That means we'll almost certainly have to wait until the fall to see the French phenom finally step onto an NBA court.