Wemby Talks Struggles vs. Thunder After Ending Up on Wrong Side of NBA History With Rare Stat

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama's 2026-27 NBA season got off to a less-than-ideal start during a 116-104 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

Wemby did not make his first field goal until the final seconds of the third quarter. That came after he missed his first 12 shots of the game and the season.

According to Elias (h/t ESPN's Michael C. Wright ), Wembanyama's 12 misses before his first make tied for the second-most consecutive shots missed to start a season-opening game in the play-by-play era, which began in 1997-98.

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Wembanyama ended up going just 1-for-13 from the field in the game, although he did finish with 12 points thanks to making 10 of his 12 free-throw attempts. The 7'4" Frenchman also chipped in 13 rebounds, six blocks and three assists.

After Tuesday's uncharacteristic performance, Wemby told reporters what he believes he needs to do in order to play more like himself moving forward.

"I need to go back to playing the basketball I like," Wembanyama said. "This is not the sport I like right here. I've got no reason to be hesitant, no reason to not be myself. I'm good when I have fun. I missed a lot of shots I usually don't miss. But after that, I didn't go back to these shots, and I wasn't decisive. I might be overthinking it. I don't need to do more. I need to think less probably."

During last season's Western Conference Finals against the Thunder, Wembanyama was dominant, averaging 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.7 blocks over the course of the seven-game series.

Thunder center Chet Holmgren had no answers for Wemby at the time, although Holmgren did manage to hold him in check on Tuesday night.

Tuesday marked the first of what could be many meetings between the Spurs and Thunder during the regular season and playoffs this season, so Wembanyama should have plenty of opportunities to bounce back from his disappointing performance in the opener.