Spurs fans aren’t the only ones growing tired of Victor Wembanyama’s minutes restrictions while he nurses a gimpy ankle back to health. Unsurprisingly, he is too. It seemed like his night was over when he subbed out with just over three minutes left against the Grizzlies, the Spurs down 16 and his 24-minute quota reached, but then he surprisingly checked back in with 1:46 left. He would quickly make a dunk before checking back out 30 seconds later.
It was an odd but forgettable moment at the time, but it turns out re-entering the game was a decision he admitted to making all on his own before Gregg Popovich subbed him back out. After lobbying for a few more minutes after exiting w/ 3:07 left, Wemby checked himself in w/ 1:46 left. After he recorded a dunk w/ 1:13 to go, Pop pulled him at the 1:10 mark. “I wasn’t allowed to sub in, but I still did it, and the coach sent me out right after,” Victor said.
His reasoning — with his team down 11 but making a comeback attempt and the Grizzlies mired in a series of errors — was he felt they still had a chance to win, and he wanted to contribute. He went on to emphasize that he trusts the staff and agrees with the minutes restrictions, but he’s also growing frustrated and is ready for them to be lifted.
