NBA

LAS VEGAS — Victor Wembanyama sat on the Thomas & Mack Center floor, in the paint under his own rim, watching the ball go the other way. He rose slowly, then shook his head.

It was that kind of night, when nothing was right, when nothing felt fulfilling. Here was the most highly anticipated basketball prospect in a generation, with 19,000 sets of eyes here following his every move, from tunnel to bench to court to tunnel again, all with expectations that could hardly meet reality.

In his first game in a San Antonio Spurs uniform, they didn’t. Victor Wembanyama, a 7-foot-3 comic book character of a basketball player, was plainly human. He was even uninteresting. He struggled on the floor, his rare combination of size, skill, length and moxie undone in his first meeting against NBA players, quasi-NBA players and players who will one day say they played in the NBA even though Summer League is nowhere close to where they actually end up.

And it will be OK. Wembanyama was not good, and that happens sometimes. This was the night that revealed that the myth of Wembanyama — the one that had blown up around him, towering over the person and player himself as scouting reports gushed and the basketball media built him up — can hardly match what we will actually see of him. There was no picture-perfect debut on national television. It was just a 19-year-old adjusting to a new job and a new workplace, likely fatigued with a long and arduous professional season in France behind him.

“Honestly, I didn’t really know what I was doing on the court tonight,” he said afterward. “But (I’m) getting ready for the next games. The important thing is to be ready for next season.”

There is very little to be taken from Wembanyama’s Las Vegas Summer League debut. He had stats and they were not pretty: nine points on 2-of-13 shooting from the field, though he showcased his rim protection with five blocks. But it doesn’t really matter what they were. His team won, sure, and he spoke of the importance of that, but no one will remember. He had his issues with the Charlotte Hornets’ physicality. He got posterized on an alley-oop finish by Kai Jones, Charlotte’s 2021 first-round pick.

So it goes on the dance floor basketball of Summer League, where no one really knows anyone else’s moves but their own.

As impossible as it may have seemed to imagine over the last few months as the hype around him bubbled, Wembanyama will struggle at times He’ll take his time to get used to the league, his teammates and everything else. That happens. He wasn’t perfect for his French club team Metropolitans 92, either, where he hit just 27.5 percent of his 3s.

But for a night, the league at least got an unveiling of the wonder Wembanyama inspires and the intrigue he brings. He brought a buzz to the Thomas & Mack Center. He all but emptied out Cox Pavillion, the adjoining arena where the Cavaliers and Nets played a game, even if no one could claim to have seen it as they piled in to see Wembanyama on the main stage. He drew out palpable energy, topping even the Summer League debuts of Zion Williamson and Lonzo Ball. This was Summer League as it seems like it’s never been before, with all interested in watching him live and in person. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar showed up and sat courtside. So did J. Cole and Jerry West.

Wembanyama towered over all, his long, lanky frame visible from every part of the arena. He showed flashes of his immense talent. The quick-twitch change of direction, the immense rim protection and shot deterrence, the sleek handle of a man the size of players who, decades prior, had been bound near the rim. He stuffed a Brandon Miller 3-point attempt. He galloped down the floor. He looked comfortable on the perimeter. There is little doubt why he was the No. 1 pick.

It was a sight just to witness Wembanyama in person after all this time. He made a star turn while still in France, while still playing games that hardly anyone but NBA scouts and executives saw. He dominated in two exhibitions against the G League Ignite in October, then retreated into highlights and glowing media reviews. Friday, he appeared again.

He didn’t leave everyone in awe, but he didn’t need to. There is no doubting the talent of Wembanyama, and, more to the point, the mystique of his talent. He transfixed an audience even in the midst of an outing gone awry. The real takeaway from his unveiling is that now we get to see him play again and again.