For someone who just made playoff history in the first conference semifinals of their fledgling career, Victor Wembanyama was looking a lot smaller than his 7’4″ frame. The San Antonio Spurs lost Game 1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves by a narrow 102-104. And it took the air out of Wemby’s sails temporarily. He’s not going to wallow longer than this post-game presser, though. In the aftermath of the narrow defeat, he took full accountability for his performance. But he challenged his team’s core contributors to do the same by putting them on the clock.

Despite a historic defensive showing, Wembanyama struggled to find his rhythm offensively, leading to a candid post-game reflection on the team’s leadership. “There was some good and some bad. I think the bad was… It’s a lot on me,” Wembanyama admitted while struggling to complete sentences. It did look like the intensity of his first semifinal against the experienced Wolves and Anthony Edwards got to him.

While the French phenom shouldered much of the blame, he subtly expanded the scope of responsibility to include the team’s veteran presence. “Obviously, my game wasn’t good, wasn’t feeling good tonight. Thus, where the team is going to look for me, if I had been better and if the offensive leaders on our team had been better, it would have been different. So basically, if everything was different, it would have been different.” At least he made the room laugh at the end.

But what was uncharacteristic was the scoring slump from a relatively healthy Wemby and De’Aaron Fox. The 22-year-old set an NBA playoff record for blocks with 12 (it’s a little debatable since the record is after 1973; Wilt Chamberlain had 16 blocks in 1969), bringing his total postseason ‘block party’ tally to 28.

However, the newly crowned DPOY only had 11 points and 15 rebounds to complete a triple-double. De’Aaron Fox had only 10 points. That offensive downturn has been rare since these two were teamed up in the post-deadline phase.

Notwithstanding his personal achievement, Wembanyama remained focused on the immediate need for adjustment. “Yeah, I don’t know what a silver lining means, but yeah, obviously we have to be better, and as I said, it shows up on the stat sheet, but we need to figure out in 48 hours what we can do better, and I got no doubt that we will. I trust us.”

Wemby dictates both the Spurs’ offense and defense. So he’s obviously counting himself in the challenge to ‘do better’ before Game 2.

Victor Wembanyama’s coach takes the pressure off the Spurs.

The offensive stagnation was the defining narrative of Game 1 despite both teams swapping one or two-point leads. Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox didn’t just combine for a mere 21 points. In a battle between two defensive juggernauts from France, Wemby and Rudy Gobert, the Wolves used the same regular-season tactics to force Wemby to the perimeter and force him to take threes. Tonight, that was his undoing. Wemby was 0-of-8 from the arc and only 1-of-2 from the line.

Fox, typically a high-volume scoring threat, finished the night shooting 5-for-14 from the field with six turnovers, a stat line that suggested the Timberwolves successfully disrupted the Spurs’ momentum. However, Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson was quick to defend the process over the results, relying on the old Spurs playbook to not risk injury to Wemby, Fox, and even Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.

“I thought he [Fox] again, he missed some shots,” Johnson said regarding Fox’s performance. “You know, the box score says he’s five-for-14, six turnovers. So, I’m sure in terms of what we’re used to from the box score, you’d want more from him. But I have no concern over De’Aaron Fox or Victor Wembanyama’s box score. They’ll be better. We’ll be better for them.”

A little contradictory of Wemby’s locker room directive, Johnson noted that it was neither player’s fault but the Timberwolves’ tactics that forced turnovers. Yet he reiterated Wemby, saying, “There are some things that we can do. Execution-wise, that will be a lot better. And sometimes the box score doesn’t always show.”

What tonight’s box score doesn’t show is Wemby’s fatigue while he demands more of himself. Despite several injury scares, he’s played 38+ minutes in every game. He’s less than a week removed from concussion protocol, played 40 minutes tonight and looked exhausted. He seems to be downplaying it with “wasn’t feeling good” statements. Concerns about his stamina and ability to withstand the intensity of a series against elite teams have grown since his concussion.

Yet the Wolves took advantage of those small pockets when Wemby was off the floor. They scored most of their points in his absence and kept it close.

As the series shifts toward a critical Game 2, the Spurs face the daunting task of deciphering a Minnesota defense over the next 48 hours. For Wembanyama, the mission is to convert to balance his defensive energy with offensive efficiency. With two days to recalibrate, the Spurs are banking on their “offensive leaders” responding to the challenge and ensuring that next time, everything is indeed different.