Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama are already showing good teamwork.
Paul, a 12-time All-Star starting his 20th NBA season, played his first preseason game with the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night. He received a big cheer from the crowd when he was introduced as part of the starting lineup against the Orlando Magic.
His first assist in a Spurs uniform was an alley-oop pass that allowed Wembanyama to dunk late in the first quarter. Paul ended the game with five points and three assists, two of which were to Wembanyama, in 23 minutes of play.
“Felt very natural. Felt like it was the good play,” Wembanyama said about that first lob from Paul. “And he’s making a lot of good plays.”
The Spurs are now Paul’s seventh team in the NBA, and when he makes his regular-season debut, he will be the 11th player to have played 20 seasons in the league.
“He’s so wise and he’s got so much experience,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after San Antonio’s 107-97 victory. “Sometimes I get mesmerized just listening to him say things to players. ‘I should have thought of that,’ that kind of thing. He mentors them well and he does it the right way.”
Vince Carter holds the record for most seasons played at 22, a mark that LeBron James will match when he plays this season. Other players like Robert Parish and Kevin Garnett played 21 seasons, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, and others reached 20 seasons.
Paul is also third on the NBA’s all-time assist list with 11,894 assists. He is 197 assists away from Jason Kidd, who is second on the list, and John Stockton holds the record with 15,806.
“Being on the court with him certainly feels like he’s got things in control,” Wembanyama said. “It’s reassuring, a little bit. It’s one more teammate I can rely on in tough moments or doubt moments. It’s only positive.”
Paul’s first game with the Spurs is just one of many exciting debuts happening during the preseason, as several top players are wearing new uniforms this season.
For example, Russell Westbrook made his debut with Denver in Abu Dhabi last week, while Karl-Anthony Towns scored 10 points in 15 minutes during his first exhibition game with the New York Knicks on Sunday. DeMar DeRozan also played in his first preseason game with Sacramento against Golden State on Wednesday.
DeRozan seemed a bit unsure at first, asking, “Which way do I go?” as he entered the arena. However, he quickly got into the game, scoring the first points of Sacramento’s preseason with his signature midrange jumper.
On Thursday, Klay Thompson, who has only played for Golden State up to now, is expected to make his preseason debut with Dallas. It’s still uncertain when Paul George will play his first preseason game for Philadelphia, as the team doesn’t have another exhibition until Friday.
