Victor Wembanyama had been pushing to come back sooner than the team preferred

Victor Wembanyama had been pushing to come back sooner than the team preferred

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Story byHoopsHypeWed, January 7, 2026 at 1:43 AM UTC·1 min read

Johnson acknowledged that Wembanyama had tried on multiple occasions to talk the staff into letting him return. Wembanyama leads San Antonio in scoring (24.0), rebounding (11.6) and blocks (3.0). "The one thing that is very consistent is he's just very direct and straightforward," Johnson said. "So, his pitch is always, 'I can play. I'm ready to go. I'm good to go.' So, you respect that, and you love that mentality and competitiveness. It also continues to remind us as an organization and the few people having those conversations with him that we have a duty to support him in a way that is in the best interest of him now and for a very long time because he's too important to this league. He deserves that."

ESPN

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Victor Wembanyama had been pushing to come back sooner than the team preferred

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