NBA-Wembanyama says Finals loss lingers as Spurs eye new season

Victor Wembanyama said the disappointment ​of the San Antonio Spurs' ​NBA Finals defeat by ‌the New ​York Knicks has lingered into the offseason, with the Frenchman acknowledging he has endured some ‌difficult nights ahead of the new campaign. Wembanyama, speaking at the Spurs' media day on Monday, said he had allowed himself to confront the ‌emotions of losing the Finals after five games rather than trying ‌to move past them too quickly.

"It evolves with time, but I've had a few sleepless nights," the 22-year-old said. "Maybe not sleepless nights, but hard to find sleep ⁠sometimes ​or hard emotions, ⁠haunting sometimes." The Spurs' run to the Finals came in Wembanyama's third season, and the ⁠7-foot-4 center said the team was ready to use the disappointment as ​motivation.

"We don't want to hide from anything. We're going to face ⁠these emotions," he said. "We're in a great spot. We're very hopeful, very ambitious, and ⁠we're ​ready." Wembanyama signed a multi-year contract extension with San Antonio in July after averaging career highs of 25 points, 11.5 rebounds and ⁠3.1 assists in 64 regular-season games last season.

He became the youngest player ⁠to win ⁠the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award and led the league with 3.08 blocks per game.