Report: Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs debut will be on Friday vs. the Hornets

We had the opponent right, just not the date. Top overall pick Victor Wembanyama will be making his Spurs debut against the Charlotte Hornets, but instead of in the California Classic Summer League, he will reportedly play his first NBA minutes on Friday against the Hornets in Las Vegas, according to Marc Stein. Tip-off for that game will be at 8:00 PM CT on ESPN.

It’s probably new to many Spurs fans to get the evening, nationally-televised Summer League games, but that’s what happens when you get a rookie the whole nation is waiting to see. The Spurs also played Charlotte in Sacramento on Monday, where they eviscerated the Hornets wire-to-wire in second overall pick Brandon Miller’s debut. Clearly the league really wants to see Wemby vs. Miller early since they play again in Vegas, and it will be interesting to see if Miller does better with the added motivation of facing the one player picked ahead of him in the draft.

At this point, it is unclear how much Wemby will actually play in Vegas. It could be just one or two of the four guaranteed games, or possibly more if the Spurs make the SL playoffs (him dropping out of the FIBA World Cup could allow him more), but regardless, he isn’t the only reason to watch the Summer Spurs. Sidy Cissoko is one of their more hyped second round picks in recent memory and showed why in Sacramento, and four second-year Spurs to-be in Malaki Branham, Blake Wesley, Julian Champagnie and Dominick Barlow (who is still a restricted free agent) are all making their case for bigger roles next season.

After Friday, the Spurs have three more guaranteed games in Vegas:

• Sunday, 7/9 vs. Portland (and Scoot Henderson!), 7:00 PM CT on ESPN2
• Tuesday, 7/11 vs. Washington, 9:30 PM CT on NBA TV
• Friday, 7/14 vs. Detroit, 7:30 PM CT on NBA TV

Should the Spurs advance to the SL playoffs, the semifinals will be on Sunday, July 16, and the finals will be on Monday, July 17. The Spurs won the Las Vegas Championship back in 2015, led by Kyle Anderson, first ever SL Finals MVP Jonathon Simmons, and head coach Becky Hammon.