Photo: Peter Baba

Victor Wembanyama is reportedly limiting his media availability ahead of the 2026-27 season after the San Antonio Spurs fell short in the 2026 NBA Finals, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPN.

“I’m hearing that Victor does not want to talk about what happened in the Finals,” Wright said on The Hoop Collective. “I’m hearing he’s like locked in, like he’s locked in.”

Wright added that Wembanyama has largely avoided American media appearances during the offseason, with one notable exception.

“I was told that he hasn’t even, he’s not even talking to any American media outlets except for 60 Minutes,” Wright said. “And I’m curious to see what the 60 Minutes is, but like, yeah, it affected him in a way. And rightfully so.”

The Spurs entered the 2026 Finals after winning 62 games during the regular season and defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 4-3 in the Western Conference finals. New York then beat San Antonio 4-1 in the Finals, including a 105-95 Game 1 victory and a 94-90 Game 5 win that secured the Knicks’ first championship in 53 years.

Wembanyama averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.1 blocks in 64 regular-season games in 2025-26. He shot 51.2% from the field and 34.9% from three-point range while earning All-NBA first-team honors and winning Defensive Player of the Year.

Wright said Wembanyama’s confidence during the Finals was not intended as arrogance, despite how some of his comments were perceived.

“The whole series, and I know a lot of people thought that he was being arrogant when he, like, some of the things he would say, but no, that’s just Victor,” Wright said. “He sincerely believed that the Spurs would win. He sincerely believed that the Spurs were the better team.”

According to Wright, the loss also provided Wembanyama with a lesson about the margin for error at the highest level of the playoffs.

“He learned a lot about it,” Wright said. “Like, one thing he talked about was just, like, when you’re at that final stage, all it takes is one mistake and a team will punish you for that one mistake.”

Wright specifically pointed to a turnover by Wembanyama as an example of the lesson.

“One turnover could be the difference in the ball game,” Wright said. “And I don’t think Victor recognized that.”

Wembanyama enters his fourth NBA season after averaging 23.4 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 blocks across his first three seasons. His 2025-26 campaign was his most efficient offensively, with a 56.9% effective field-goal percentage and a 59.0% two-point shooting percentage.