Spurs' Victor Wembanyama Focused on Winning Games, 'Dedicated' to Earning Awards

San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama earned the first major individual award of his NBA career on Monday after being named the unanimous Rookie of the Year.

On the heels of that announcement, Wembanyama sat down for an exclusive interview with ESPN's Andrew Lopez, who asked him how much he prioritizes getting individual awards while knowing what they could mean for team success (2:00 mark).

"The most important to me is winning the 'chip, clearly this is what I want to do," Wembanyama said regarding his primary goal of earning an NBA title.

"But those individual awards tell a lot about the path a player takes throughout his career to get to those heights, so I'm dedicated to winning some."

All 99 NBA voters for the ROY award selected Wembanyama for the honor and rightfully so. The generational talent averaged 21.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG and 3.6 BPG. He got better as the season went along and ended it with a 34-point, 12-rebound outing to lead the Spurs to a 121-120 win over Nikola Jokić and the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets.

It was a tough year for the Spurs, who went just 22-60. But by the end of the season, San Antonio was figuring it out, going 7-4 to close the year with wins over four playoff teams (Denver, New York, Phoenix, New Orleans).

It's clear that Wembanyama's on track for many major awards over his career. It's a matter of whether the Spurs can construct the team around him to win the ultimate prize, though, in the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.

The team's prospects are clearly pointing up, though, with Wembanyama being as advertised and then some coupled with the team's strong finish.