There's Concern Growing About Victor Wembanyama's Health After Game 1

Victor Wembanyama's NBA Finals debut didn't exactly go the way fans hoped it would.

The San Antonio Spurs lost Game 1 to the New York Knicks in large part because they received an inefficient outing from Wembanyama. Although he finished the game with 26 points, he only went 6-of-21 from the field and had six turnovers. The Knicks did a good job of making life difficult for him in the second half.

Several NBA analysts noticed that Wembanyama's effort on Wednesday night dipped as the game progressed.

"Wemby looked tired," Bill Simmons of The Ringer said. "I don't know if he shot his wad in the first half or what happened, but I just, I don't know what the answer is."

ESPN's Brian Windhorst also noticed Wembanyama's "low energy level" in Game 1.

"He might deny it, but I felt Victor Wembanyama was low on energy from the first quarter," Windhorst said. "Now I know the game started out frenetic. I know when the stakes are high, you sometimes see players need their second wind. I saw Victor bending over and grabbing his shorts midway through the first quarter, and I didn't think he was able to maintain a good energy flow for most of the game."

Former NBA coach Doc Rivers ultimately believes Wembanyama had the ball in his hands a bit too much Wednesday night.

"The other thing is time of possession," Rivers said. "How often did he hold the ball and have the ball in his hands? It, it looked like way more than usual. Yeah. And so I think that played right into the Knicks' hands."

Wembanyama isn't worried.

After losing Game 1 at home, Wembanyama told reporters he's "not worried in the slightest" about the NBA Finals.

"I'm gonna figure it out. I was bad tonight," Wembanyama said. "It's not more complicated than that."

Wembanyama and the Spurs will be back in action Friday night for Game 2.

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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 11:42 AM.