Wemby’s playoff debut

Victor Wembanyama opened his first National Basketball Association playoff game with 35 points as San Antonio beat Portland 111-98 in Game 1 on Sunday, April 19. (apnews.com) The 21-year-old finished with five rebounds, two blocks and five 3-pointers, and his 35 points set a Spurs record for a postseason debut. (nba.com) San Antonio led 30-21 after one quarter and 59-49 at halftime, then kept control through the third on the way to a 13-point win at Frost Bank Center. (espn.com) Wembanyama’s first half was the tone-setter. He scored 21 points before the break, which ESPN’s game recap said was the most in the opening half of an N.B.A. playoff debut since the league’s play-by-play era began in 1997. (espn.com) The bigger story around the game is where San Antonio is now. The Spurs went 62-20 in the regular season, earned the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and are in the playoffs for the first time since 2019. (espn.com) Their roster is also different from the one that started Wembanyama’s career. San Antonio acquired De’Aaron Fox from Sacramento on Feb. 3, 2025, then signed him to a multiyear extension in August 2025, giving Wembanyama an All-Star level guard beside him for this run. (nba.com, nba.com) The Spurs also added another young piece around him. Guard Stephon Castle, the 2024-25 Kia Rookie of the Year, is now part of a core that has pushed San Antonio from rebuild to home-court advantage. (nba.com, nba.com) For Portland, the challenge was immediate and concrete: a 7-foot-4 scorer who can finish at the rim, shoot over contests and still protect the basket on the other end. NBA.com’s Game 1 takeaways called his night a franchise-record playoff debut and tied it to San Antonio’s young core taking control of the series opener. (nba.com) The series resumes Tuesday, April 21, with San Antonio holding a 1-0 lead. Game 1 turned Wembanyama’s first playoff appearance into a result the Spurs had waited seven years to see. (espn.com, espn.com)