San Antonio Spurs star signs extension with team, claiming 'I'm here to stay'

[p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/san-antonio-spurs/IwmkErSH/"]Spurs[/a] posted video of the signing on their social media accounts, confirming a multi-year extension.[/p][p]ESPN reported the deal was for the five-year, $252 million rookie maximum with the extension including a player option in the fifth season.[/p][p]The 22-year-old Frenchman posted his comments to the "Spurs family" on X earlier in the day, hinting what was to come for the 7-foot-4 (2.24m) superstar.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wembanyama-victor/jFmM1MFl/"]Wembanyama[/a] averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, an NBA-best 3.1 blocked shots and 1.0 steals a game for San Antonio last season as the Spurs reached the NBA Finals only to lose to the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-york-knicks/WCNO4nbt/"]New York Knicks[/a].[/p][p]"Wemby" was unanimously voted the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and sparked the Spurs to the second-best record in the league at 62-20, then in his first NBA playoff run ousted [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/portland-trail-blazers/4Awl14c5/"]Portland[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/minnesota-timberwolves/KjBIVQcI/"]Minnesota[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/oklahoma-city-thunder/0fHFHEWD/"]Oklahoma City[/a] to reach the finals.[/p][p]Wembanyama was disappointed after the finals defeat, but the news he will remain a Spur for the long term will excite San Antonio supporters.[/p][p]According to ESPN, Wembanyama did not take "supermax" escalators worth 30% in the deal, staying with a 25% jump that will allow the Spurs more money and room under NBA salary cap rules to better surround him with talent in the quest for a championship.[/p][embed guid="904b6333-91af-4364-be5e-6645c8346ea0" url="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/2075712917098611093?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]It's a move similar to one made by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/duncan-tim/hE0bXnaQ/"]Tim Duncan[/a] in an earlier Spurs era to help produce a champion and by New York's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/brunson-jalen/YLRvL3v7/"]Jalen Brunson[/a] to give the Knicks enough talent to dispatch the Spurs in last month's Finals.[/p][p]Wembanyama has three-season NBA career averages of 23.4 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.5 blocked shots and 1.1 steals.[/p][p]Since his arrival as the top overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, Wembanyama has inspired a startling turnaround in the Spurs fortunes.[/p][p]They won just 22 games in his first season and 34 in the next before they roared into title contention with a dazzling 62-win campaign.[/p][p]A superb march to the Finals ensued, including an against-the-odds defeat of the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder before they fell to the Knicks in the NBA Finals.[/p][p]Even as he absorbed the enormity of that defeat, Wembanyama was eyeing a return to the Finals.[/p][p]"[b]It has been a hell of a year in terms of experience,[/b]" he said after the Knicks clinched a 4-1 triumph in the championship series in June, adding that one of the hardest aspects of the defeat is that "[b]there's probably a hundred games before we can be back in Finals.[/b][/p][p]"[b]It's painful,[/b]" he said. "[b]But I'm not running away from that. I'm using (it) to fuel me.[/b]"[/p]