Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs tried to provide David Robinson and Tim Duncan with everything they needed for rapid development, but they were missing something in their newest superstar, Victor Wembanyama.

Robinson and Duncan had veteran players like Paul Pressey, Terry Porter and Avery Johnson as mentors during their first years in the NBA. As a 20-year-old rookie, Wembanyama’s teammates were mostly around the same age and only had a year to three years more experience.

“Think about the guys that came in when Timmy and Manu (Ginobili) and Tony (Parker) were here,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “They had good examples to look up to, (players) who had been in the league for a while. It is important for a player’s development. For the most part, these guys didn’t really have that. Even Victor is obviously super talented, but he needs it just as much as anyone else who is young.”

Enter Chris Paul to answer all your questions about veteran leadership in San Antonio.

“I watched him a lot (growing up),” Wembanyama said. “He is a player I watched as a child. I’m really excited about the week (one) we spent here with him. We all learned a lot. We all knew he would fit in with us, but he is trying to do his best to fit in with us and teach us from day one.”

The Spurs signed Paul and traded him for Harrison Barnes to build the youngest team in the league last season. Paul and Harrison bring a combined 33 years of playing experience and 220 playoff games to a team hoping to break a five-year playoff drought.

“I think the biggest thing I can bring to this team is competitiveness,” Paul said. “We talk about it all the time. Playing hard is a talent, but it’s not enough. This team has already shown the ability to play hard and compete night in and night out, but now we have to figure out how to translate that into wins.”

While Spurs have won 22 games in each of the last two seasons, expectations are high that they will advance to the playoffs behind the unique talents of the 2.13 meter tall Wembanyama. San Antonio set an NBA record with 22 straight playoff appearances under Robinson and Duncan before this current slump.

Paul is entering his 20th season and has long been considered one of the best floor leaders in the league. He was named All-NBA ten times, including four first team selections, was named All-Defensive First Team seven times, was an All-Star twelve times and led the league in assists five times.

“His IQ is extraordinary,” Popovich said. “It was always difficult to play against him because he thought ahead of the coaches.”

More importantly for San Antonio, Paul has spent his entire career as a point guard, starting in 2008 in New Orleans when he was named Rookie of the Year.

The Spurs tried to make power forward Jeremy Sochan their starting point guard last season, but the experiment failed. San Antonio opened the season 3-20 as Sochan struggled to learn a position he had never played before at any level.

The experiment also slowed Wembanyama as he lined up at power forward before moving to center to begin his rise to winning rookie of the year.

Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals and was the youngest player to lead the league with 3.6 blocks per game. He also became the first player in league history to record 1,500 points, 250 blocks and 100 3-pointers in a season, and joined Duncan and Robinson as the only rookies in league history with at least 30 points, 10 Rebounds, five assists and five blocks in one game.

“He’s a dog,” Sochan said of Wembanyama. “That’s the definition of him. What he does on the pitch is incredible, but that’s because of the work he does (off the pitch). When there are no cameras, no people around, he’s just working mentally and physically, and that’s amazing to see.”

What can Paul do to help Wembanyama become even better? “Teach him how to dunk,” Paul said jokingly.

“For me and him, it’s just going to be about helping him settle in better,” Paul said. “As a rookie like him, coming here with all the expectations and playing as well as he did and knowing the expectations of coming up short this year, I think hopefully I can help him develop and help him where I can.” “

Getting the chance to start was an important factor in Paul’s move to Spurs. The 39-year-old started a career-low 18 games for the Warriors.

At 39, Paul is by far the oldest player in the Spurs squad and his teenage teammates make sure he knows it.

Rookie Stephon Castle reminded Paul that he attended one of his youth camps and joked that his father, Stacey, played with him at Wake Forest – Stacey actually played with Duncan. Keldon Johnson also gave up the number 3 to Paul, who was the inspiration for the 24-year-old to choose the number in the first place.

“Besides basketball and hoops, we spend a lot of time together,” Paul said. “It’s a great group to be here. I can honestly say that, and I mean it.”

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