Two and done: Spurs decide that Wembanyama’s Summer League is over 

San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama shoots over Portland Trail Blazers' Justin Minaya during the second half of an NBA summer league basketball game Sunday in Las Vegas. (AP)
Short Url
Updated 11 July 2023
Follow

Two and done: Spurs decide that Wembanyama’s Summer League is over 

  • The shutdown wasn’t a surprise; the Spurs never planned for Wembanyama to play the entirety of Summer League
  • The Spurs believe he needs a chance to rest and reset to get ready for training camp that starts in early October and then an 82-game regular season

LAS VEGAS: Victor Wembanyama’s first, and likely last, Summer League is over.

The San Antonio Spurs said Monday that they have seen all they needed from the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft and won’t play him during their remaining games in Las Vegas.

Wembanyama’s final numbers from two games: 36 points, 20 rebounds, eight blocks and three assists on 41 percent shooting from the floor. He played about 54 minutes.

The shutdown wasn’t a surprise; the Spurs never planned for Wembanyama to play the entirety of Summer League, and now they’ll have a chance to use the minutes he would have gotten to take a look at other players.

“I’m going to sit down with the Spurs to know what the next months are going to be like,” Wembanyama said Sunday night after what became his summer finale. “When to go on vacation, when to start back working out, where I’m going to practice, in San Antonio or somewhere else. I just know I’ve got two to three months — two to three great months — that are coming and they’re going to change my life.”

Shutting him down from games — San Antonio have either three or four games left in Las Vegas — starts what will be a needed break for the 19-year-old from France whose last professional season in his homeland started nearly a year ago. He was in the French playoffs up until a few days before the draft in June, and his schedule has been crazed since.

Put simply, the Spurs believe he needs a chance to rest and reset to get ready for training camp that starts in early October and then an 82-game regular season.

“In the past month, I think basketball wasn’t even 50 percent of my schedule,” Wembanyama said. “I can’t stand it. I know it’s a special moment in my life, but I’m glad it’s over. Honestly. I just want to hoop. I just want to work out, lift because this is my life. Obviously, every first pick is going to go through this. And it just makes me better for the future.”

It has been a whirlwind few days in Las Vegas for the Spurs. Wembanyama’s debut on Friday night had a circus-like atmosphere with a sold-out crowd and enormous attention; Sunday’s game wasn’t quite the same, but the crowd was still huge. And more big news came between those games on Saturday when Gregg Popovich’s new five-year contract to remain coach and president of the team was announced.

As would be expected, the Popovich signing delighted Wembanyama.

“There’s something great going on, starting,” Wembanyama said. “We kind of knew it was going to happen, but now it’s, let’s get it rolling. We can get started now.”

Wembanyama took part in the NBA’s required rookie transition program on Monday, where he spoke with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver — who has raved about the 7-foot-3 star many times since first meeting him in Paris in January.

“I’m not sure if anything else I’d say could put more pressure on him, because there’s already so much pressure on him and attention,” Silver said Monday while speaking to the Associated Press Sports Editors convention in Las Vegas. “But it seems, at least initially, that he’s well equipped to handle it.”

And everyone from teammates, opponents and even NBA greats like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West have raved about what they’ve seen from Wembanyama in recent days.

“The difficulty is learning how you can best contribute to a winning effort,” Abdul-Jabbar told him. “That’s what you’ve got to learn how to do with your skill set. You will find out what that is basically in preseason. You’ll find out a lot about that.”

Vegas is a showtown. Wembanyama put on a show, and the Spurs said it was enough. And now his focus shifts to his first real season.

“He’s amazing,” San Antonio guard Blake Wesley said. “He’s an amazing person on and off the court.”


Motor racing-Norris wins wet Miami sprint to trim Piastri’s lead by a point

Updated 10 sec ago
Follow

Motor racing-Norris wins wet Miami sprint to trim Piastri’s lead by a point

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, winner of the season’s first sprint in China, finished third

MIAMI: Lando Norris won a crash-strewn and wet-to-dry Miami Grand Prix sprint race in a McLaren one-two on Saturday to cut teammate Oscar Piastri’s Formula One lead to nine points.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, winner of the season’s first sprint in China, finished third with the safety car leading the closing laps before peeling off at the end.

Atletico held at Alaves in dry Liga draw

Updated 22 min 38 sec ago
Follow

Atletico held at Alaves in dry Liga draw

  • Diego Simeone’s side have little to play for in the final weeks of the season
  • Alaves, however, moved provisionally 16th, three points clear of the relegation zone

VITORIA, Spain: Atletico Madrid were held to a dull 0-0 draw at relegation-battling Alaves on Saturday in La Liga.
Diego Simeone’s side have little to play for in the final weeks of the season, sitting third with Champions League qualification virtually assured and leaders Barcelona nine points ahead of them.
Alaves, however, moved provisionally 16th, three points clear of the relegation zone with an important point against their illustrious visitors.
Julian Alvarez was sent off in the only moment to get pulses racing in the first half when he connected high on Argentine compatriot Facundo Garces’ leg, but the referee downgraded his red card to yellow after a VAR review.
Simeone took off his son Giuliano and Antoine Griezmann as he looked for more energy, bringing on Samuel Lino and regular super-sub Alexander Sorloth.
Antonio Sivera saved a Lino long-range effort, Atletico’s first shot on target, with around 20 minutes remaining as what had been a soporific battle burst belatedly into life.
Jan Oblak made a superb low stop to thwart Kike Garcia from close range as Eduardo Caudet’s hosts almost found a way through.
Sivera clawed out a Clement Lenglet effort and Angel Correa could not convert at the end of a swift counter-attack as Atletico threatened but could not find a winner.
“Neither side could get the upper hand, either in possession or in attack, there were no shots in the first half — the game was played in the middle of the pitch without any danger,” admitted Simeone, who turned his attention to the Club World Cup this summer.
“We’ve earned (qualification) on our merit... the Club World Cup, a significant milestone for the last four years of work.”
Ayoze Perez struck twice for Villarreal as they beat Osasuna 4-2 to close in on Champions League qualification for next season.
The top five La Liga teams qualify and the Yellow Submarine are currently fifth, four points clear of Real Betis who visit Espanyol on Sunday.


Villa boost top five bid, Southampton beaten at Leicester

Updated 46 min 52 sec ago
Follow

Villa boost top five bid, Southampton beaten at Leicester

  • Seventh-placed Villa extended their unbeaten run on home turf to 20 games in all competitions
  • Emery said: “Today, we got more or less to be close to Europe. Wow, fantastic, brilliant”

LONDON: Unai Emery vowed Aston Villa will fight until the end for a place in the Champions League after boosting their bid with a 1-0 win against Fulham on Saturday.
Emery’s side are back in the hunt to finish in the Premier League’s top five thanks to Youri Tielemans’ 12th-minute header at Villa Park.
Seventh-placed Villa extended their unbeaten run on home turf to 20 games in all competitions, lifting them level with sixth-placed Nottingham Forest and fifth-placed Chelsea on 60 points.
After bouncing back from their dismal FA Cup semifinal loss to Crystal Palace last weekend, Villa will hope their rivals falter over the weekend as the top five race heads for a dramatic climax.
“If we weren’t winning today, forget it completely,” Emery said.
“Today, we got more or less to be close to Europe. Wow, fantastic, brilliant. The best gift we can achieve after it is the Europa League or Champions League.
“Champions League, okay. We are not favorites to get it because there is Nottingham Forest in front of us, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle.
“But we will fight for it, Europe, and hopefully we can fight for the Champions League.”
Southampton wasted a chance to avoid a share of the lowest points total in Premier League history as Jamie Vardy’s 199th Leicester goal inspired a 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium.
Simon Rusk’s bottom of the table team are trying to avoid finishing with just 11 points — which would match Derby’s low mark set in 2007-08.
But Southampton’s hopes of getting a 12th point quickly faded against fellow relegated side Leicester.
After announcing last week that he will leave the club at the end of the season, the 38-year-old Vardy bagged a farewell goal as he put second-bottom Leicester ahead in the 17th minute.
The game was delayed for 11 minutes when referee David Webb was forced off with a head injury after colliding with Leicester’s Jordan Ayew.


Vardy cheekily blew the referee’s whistle while he was being treated.
Leicester finally won for the first time since January as Ayew grabbed the second goal in the 44th minute.
Southampton have now lost 28 of their 35 league games and have three matches left to avoid sharing the low points record with Derby.
Relegated Ipswich fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 in Everton’s penultimate match at Goodison Park.
Kieran McKenna’s third-bottom side trailed to Beto’s 26th minute goal and Dwight McNeil’s effort nine minutes later.
But Julio Enciso ‘s 30-yard rocket reduced the deficit in the 41st minute and George Hirst equalized with 11 minutes left.
Everton’s emotional last match at Goodison before moving to their new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium next season comes against Southampton on May 18.
Second-placed Arsenal host Bournemouth in Saturday’s late game as the Gunners warm up for their Champions League semifinal showdown with Paris Saint-Germain.
Mikel Arteta’s side lost 1-0 in the first leg on Tuesday and head to France for the second leg on Wednesday as they look to reach the final for the first time since 2006.


Leipzig put Bayern and Kane’s title party on ice

Updated 03 May 2025
Follow

Leipzig put Bayern and Kane’s title party on ice

  • Leroy Sane looked to have completed the comeback and clinch the title
  • The result keeps Bayer Leverkusen’s slim chances of defending their Bundesliga title alive

MUNICH: Bayern Munich and Harry Kane’s German Bundesliga title party was delayed by at least a day after RB Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen scored a stoppage-time equalizer in a 3-3 home draw on Saturday.
With Kane sitting in the stands due to a yellow card suspension, Bayern fell two down by half-time, Leipzig scoring twice in teaming rain in Saxony through Benjamin Sesko and Lucas Klostermann.
Bayern then scored twice in 46 seconds through Eric Dier and Michael Olize to level things up with just under 30 minutes remaining.
Leroy Sane looked to have completed the comeback and clinch the title, hitting an unstoppable shot from the right of goal on the 83rd-minute mark.
But Poulsen, subbed on with 30 minutes to go, chipped the ball over Urbig in the fifth minute of stoppage time to snatch a draw.
The result keeps Bayer Leverkusen’s slim chances of defending their Bundesliga title alive.
Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen play at Freiburg on Sunday and need to win their three remaining games, with Bayern, who have a significant goal difference advantage, needing just a point to lift the title.
Leipzig grabbed the lead 11 minutes in when Sesko pounced on a mistake from visiting ‘keeper Jonas Urbig, who was slipped while well outside of his penalty box, allowing the Slovenian to hit a long-range shot home.
Klostermann doubled Leipzig’s lead shortly before half-time, heading in from a David Raum header.
Leipzig, who needed a win to boost their hopes of Champions League football next season, were in control and looked on track for victory until Bayern shocked the hosts with two goals in 46 seconds.
Dier headed in from a corner, his third goal in his past four games, before Olize made the most of a Leipzig defensive mistake to level the scores.
Sane’s late goal sent Bayern’s bench wild.
As the clock wound down, a beaming Kane made his way down from the stands to the sidelines, ready to collect the title of his career.
Poulsen was however sent through on goal by Xavi Simons and cooly chipped the ‘keeper to delay Bayern’s party by at least a day.
Later on Sunday, Borussia Dortmund can keep their top-four hopes alive with a win at home against Wolfsburg.
Champions League finalists last season, Dortmund were as low as 11th this year but have won four of their past five.


Chile footballer Vidal cleared of suspicion in sexual assault case

Updated 03 May 2025
Follow

Chile footballer Vidal cleared of suspicion in sexual assault case

  • The woman accused Vidal and other Colo Colo players of sexual assault
  • Other unnamed members of Vidal’s team remain under investigation

SANTIAGO: Chilean football star Arturo Vidal has been cleared of suspicion of sexual assault, prosecutors said Saturday, adding that the complaint made by a woman over a party at a Santiago night club had been dismissed.
The woman accused Vidal, 37, and other players from his first-division Colo Colo side of sexual assault at a club, where the footballers were celebrating a birthday on November 4.
“We were able to reconstitute the events of that day and, ultimately, there is no evidence to support charges,” prosecutor Felipe Cembrano said in a video sent to the media.
Other unnamed members of Vidal’s team remain under investigation, however.
Former Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Inter Milan midfielder Vidal returned last year to Colo Colo, where he started his career at 17.
He was part of the so-called “Golden Generation” that led Chile to victory in the 2015 Copa America.