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Wembanyama Channels Finals Heartbreak Into Spurs' Title Push

His lingering sleeplessness has shaped the team’s training and roster moves as San Antonio targets the West’s top seed next season.

Overview

  • Victor Wembanyama, who spoke at Spurs media day on Monday, said the 2026 Finals loss “stayed with him,” causing sleepless nights and feelings he described as “haunting.”
  • San Antonio fell to the New York Knicks in five games after surrendering multiple double-digit leads, including a 29-point advantage blown in Game 4 that became the biggest comeback in Finals history.
  • Wembanyama used the offseason to regroup with teammates in Paris and to train with French club Provence Rugby, adopting rugby-style drills to build lower-body strength, balance and contact handling.
  • The Spurs added veteran forward Tobias Harris on a two-year, $31 million deal to bring experience and scoring stability to late-game lineups exposed in the Finals.
  • With training camp underway and five preseason games before the Oct. 20 regular-season opener, the Spurs say they are integrating new rotations and aiming to convert last season’s breakthrough into a title run while Wembanyama builds on his Defensive Player of the Year season.