Victor Wembanyama makes Summer League debut with Spurs

LAS VEGAS —

When you combine Las Vegas with one of the most-hyped prospects in NBA history arriving for the Las Vegas Summer League, it becomes something that resembles a magic show.

Nothing was bigger in Vegas on Friday night than the start of the Victor Wembanyama era.

It began early in the fourth quarter of the previous game as he was dressed in his uniform, standing in the tunnel. As a few fans on the opposite side of the arena spotted him, shouts of “Wemby!” began. And as he took the court for warm-ups, another pretty good big man, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, arrived to take in the show.

With the crowd cheering his every move, Wembanyama misfired on his first three shots before slipping a pretty pass to an open cutter for an assist. He got on the board with seven minutes left in the first when he ran out ahead of the pack and made a layup as he was fouled.

The overall numbers didn’t quite live up to the hype — 2-for-13 shooting, nine points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots in the Spurs’ 76-68 win over the Hornets.

“Special moment. Really special to wear that jersey for the first time,’’ Wembanyama said. “It’s really an honor. Overall, I’m glad we won this game. No better way to start. Honestly, I really didn’t know what I was doing on the court tonight, but trying to learn for the next game. The goal is to be ready for the start of the season.’’

The crowd got nearly as loud as they did for any of Wembanyama’s moves when Charlotte’s Kai Jones dunked over him in the third quarter.

A day before his first game, Wembanyama tried to head out for dinner and found himself in tabloid headlines for a run-in with Britney Spears.

While the first on-court NBA test came Friday, Thursday’s incident might have been the first hint of what life off the court will be like for the 7-5 rookie.

“I saw the news, obviously,” Wembanyama told reporters Friday morning. “I woke up to a couple of phone calls. Something did happen a little bit when I was walking with some security of the team to some restaurants .  .  .   I didn’t stop to look. I just kept walking, enjoyed a nice dinner. That was a fun night with the guys.”

The show at Thomas and Mack Center may not have had the allure of a celebrity interaction, but it drew not just a sellout crowd but established NBA players — Fred VanVleet and Michael Porter Jr. were in the front row alongside rapper J. Cole.

Outside the arena, there was the buying and reselling of tickets for the game, which the NBA said was just the fifth sellout of the Summer League. The most recent one had been the debut of Zion Williamson in 2019 against the Knicks.

“I’ve seen big crowds before. It was OK,’’ Wembanyama said. “It wasn’t like a home game or even an away game. It’s not like a united crowd was here only to cheer my team or destroy us. I’m glad a lot of people could get to see us play.’’

Spurs Summer League coach Matt Nielsen was asked how he thinks Wembanyama is handling the situation.

“I think he’s pretty amazing in that area,’’ he said. “He’s a 19-year-old kid. Look at all that’s coming at him from all angles. What I see is he just wants to play basketball.”

Spurs teammate Julian Champagnie was asked if Wembanyama seemed to be putting pressure on himself before the game.

“I don’t know, honestly,’’ he said. “I didn’t speak to him about it. I let him be in his moment, which he deserves. If he did put pressure on himself, I’d tell him not to, just play basketball.”

Portland’s Scoot Henderson and Houston’s Amen Thompson, the Nos. 3 and 4 picks in the draft, also faced off. Henderson scored 15 points but left in the third quarter with a right shoulder injury. Thompson had 16 points.

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.