Victor Wembanyama admitted he wasn't himself on Tuesday night, shooting a career-worst 1-for-13 in the San Antonio Spurs' 116-104 season-opening loss to the rival Oklahoma City Thunder.
"I need to go back to playing the basketball I like," the Spurs star said postgame, per ESPN's Michael C. Wright. "This is not the sport I like right here.
"I've got no reason to be hesitant, no reason to not be myself. I'm good when I have fun. I missed a lot of shots I usually don't miss. But after that, I didn't go back to these shots, and I wasn't decisive. I might be overthinking it. I don't need to do more. I need to think less, probably."
Wembanyama still managed 12 points, 13 rebounds, six blocks, three assists, and a steal in 34 minutes. However, the 7-foot-4 center didn't record his first field goal until the end of the third quarter - a one-handed dunk just before the buzzer off a close-range lob from guard De'Aaron Fox.
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It marks the first time Wembanyama has been limited to a single field goal in a regular-season game since Oct. 30, 2024, when he shot 1-of-5 in another loss to Oklahoma City in his second year.
Wembanyama missed his first 12 shots on Tuesday, including four from beyond the arc. The 22-year-old also didn't attempt a field goal in the fourth quarter, as the Thunder held their lead despite the Spurs briefly cutting a 27-point deficit to single digits.
Oklahoma City head coach Mark Daigneault acknowledged that Wembanyama was uncharacteristically off but commended his bigs for slowing down the two-time All-Star.
"I thought he missed shots that he can normally make from the floor," Daigneault said. "I thought Chet (Holmgren) did a great job on him. I thought (Aday) Mara did a great job on him in the possessions he had him.
"There's been times where we could get a little jumpy with him, and we overhelp and give up something clean. There's other times where we've left him on an island. I thought tonight we had the perfect balance of providing help, putting him in a crowd, discipline on the ball, but not hemorrhaging in other parts of the floor."
