Spurs are still anticipated to struggle, even with Victor Wembanyama.

Victor Wembanyama, a French phenom, was selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs after they were fortunate enough to win the lottery for the 2023 NBA Draft.
Even though Wembanyama is regarded as a generational talent, experts don’t think the Spurs will be a serious contender this coming season.
San Antonio is actually predicted to remain in the bottom half of the rankings.

The Spurs had a 22-60 record at the end of the previous season.
The Houston Rockets and that team shared the league’s second-worst record. Only the Detroit Pistons had a worse record during the 2022–23 season (17–65).

San Antonio will likely improve, but not significantly, for the upcoming season.
The over/under on Spurs victories during Wembanyama’s rookie season is only 29.5 wins, according to sportsbettingapp.com’s prognosticators’ predictions.

The Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards are the only two NBA teams with a lower over/under for their anticipated total number of victories in the upcoming campaign.
Washington’s over/under is 24.5 wins, while Detroit’s is 28.5 wins.

Why aren’t more victories for the Spurs expected?

The fact that the Spurs are essentially bringing back the same roster that won 22 games last season is the main reason why forecasters aren’t calling for more victories for the Silver and Black. Yes, San Antonio did add Wembanyama, but the rest of the team remains largely unchanged.
The Spurs chose to keep things the same even though they had available salary cap space to spend during the offseason.

Especially with the addition of Wembanyama’s imposing presence, Spurs supporters are hoping that internal improvements from players like Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, and Jeremy Sochan will lead to more victories.
That line of reasoning, however, is not yet accepted by forecasters.

The Spurs’ over/under for total wins might be higher if they had used their salary cap space to sign important free agents.
Despite this, San Antonio made the decision to put continuity first and will wait to decide how to use their cap space until they have a better understanding of how Wembanyama will fit in the NBA.

Victor Wembanyama is trusted by prognosticators.

Although analysts don’t have high hopes for San Antonio to win many games next season, this isn’t because Wembanyama is predicted to fail.
In actuality, the big man who stands 7 feet 3 and a half inches and changed shoes is the clear favorite to take home the 2023–24 NBA Rookie of the Year trophy.

To be named the league’s top rookie, Wembanyama essentially has a 1-to-1 chance. Chet Holmgren, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s second-round draft pick in 2022, has the second-best odds.
He missed the entirety of the previous season because of an injury.
The odds against Holmgren winning the top rookie award are 3-to-1.

Scoot Henderson is the only other rookie who isn’t viewed as a long shot.
Portland Trail Blazers’ selection with the third overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft has odds of about 4-to-1.

Without a doubt, Wembanyama will start the 2023–24 NBA season as the overwhelming favorite to win Rookie of the Year, barring an injury.

Providing Evidence That the Spurs Will Perform Better Than Anticipated.

You must start with Wembanyama if you want to make the case that the Spurs will win 30 or more games. If the Frenchman lives up to the hype, he immediately establishes himself as San Antonio’s go-to scorer and the foundation upon which everything else is built.

Defenses would be concentrated on trying to slow Wembanyama, which would free up other players to fill roles that were more appropriate for them.
Keldon Johnson, for instance, has the skills to be a top-notch complementary scorer despite his occasional struggles as a go-to scorer.
Devin Vassell could also shine brighter than ever before with less focus on him.

While Jeremy Sochan and Tre Jones occasionally struggle to score, this won’t be as big of a problem if Wembanyama is scoring frequently and early. Additionally, Zach Collins is expected to keep starting at center and should perform better than usual given all the attention being paid to San Antonio’s rather large rookie.

Gregg Popovich, the head coach, might put everything on the line to win now that Wembanyama is in the mix. While achieving victories wasn’t always the main goal before games last season, Popovich is probably going to want to set Wembanyama up for success right away in his NBA career.

Providing Evidence That the Spurs Will Perform Worse Than Expected.

You have to think that Wembanyama will go through growing pains in his rookie season if you think the Spurs will win fewer than 30 games.
Given that he is only 19 years old, it is not impossible.
Wembanyama’s failure to lead the Spurs to victory on Day 1 shouldn’t come as a surprise because it’s extremely difficult for teenagers to have an impact on winning at the NBA level.

The Spurs won 56 games during Tim Duncan’s first season.
The Spurs won 56 games during David Robinson’s rookie campaign.
In contrast to what we learned about the two other No. Expect Wembanyama’s rookie season in San Antonio to be unlike any other in the franchise’s history because he was the No. 1 overall pick.

Duncan and Robinson were very mature athletes to begin with. Wembanyama, on the other hand, won’t turn 20 until January and is still fitting into his body.
He will need time to get used to the league, even in the best-case scenarios.

Second, veteran backup players were present for both Duncan and Robinson as they made their NBA debuts.
In particular, Duncan joined a team that had already experienced playoff success.
The supporting cast that Wembanyama is surrounded by, on the other hand, is clueless when it comes to winning or what it takes to have a successful team in the postseason.

The Spurs’ upcoming season: What to anticipate.

My recommendation is to take the over if you plan to wager on the Spurs’ 29 point 5 wins over/under for the upcoming season.
Early in his career, Wembanyama ought to be a force on offense.
The roles played by Johnson, Vassell, Sochan, and the rest of the supporting cast will feel much more natural.
Not to mention that Popovich will be driven to win as many games as possible, which should lead to more victories than 29.5.