At 23-29, the Spurs occupy just the No. 12 seed in a crowded Western Conference. They are a scant 3.5 games behind the No. 10-seeded Golden State Warriors (28-27), but without their best player, they seem doomed now to miss the play-in tournament entirely and head straight for the lottery.

The Spurs are signaling optimism, with a team source telling The Athletic that Wembanyama is expected to be fully healthy and ready at the start of training camp in October. Per the team source, Wembanyama had been experiencing low energy in recent weeks, which initially caused concern.

In his short career, Victor Wembanyama has taken the basketball world by storm. His San Antonio Spurs team took on the Indiana Pacers in the first of two games at the Accor Arena in Paris, with the seven-foot-three center giving home fans a lot to marvel at.