SAN ANTONIO – In a rush to celebrate former assistant Becky Hammon and the Las Vegas Aces’ second consecutive WNBA title, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich squirmed in his seat ready to bolt.

“I thought about getting booted tonight,” he said Wednesday after his team’s 117-113 victory over the Houston Rockets. “But I just thought this [had] to be my priority. It was close.”

Luckily, Popovich remained long enough to coach prized No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama and the rest of the Spurs through preseason game No. 3, which was billed as a dress rehearsal for the start of the regular season. The club deployed a lineup that competed in live action alongside one another for just the first time all preseason.

Headlined by Wembanyama, that group, according to Popovich, represents San Antonio’s starters for the Oct. 25 regular-season opener against the Dallas Mavericks.

We’ll get into that and more in our three takeaways from Wembanyama’s third exhibition outing.

Big ball, best 5

San Antonio opted for utilizing a gargantuan starting five against the Rockets. With the 6-foot-8 Jeremy Sochan running point for the second straight exhibition outing, the Spurs tipped off with Wembanyama (7-foot-4), Zach Collins (6-foot-11), Devin Vassell (6-foot-5) and Keldon Johnson (6-foot-5), and the group ran off a 17-2 lead in fewer than five minutes to start the game.

In addition to clogging the paint with Wembanyama and Collins, this lineup possesses the collective length to consistently disrupt passing lanes. Count on this group being the club’s most effective lineup this season. Wembanyama’s gravity, scoring prowess at every level, and passing ability only lifts the lineup’s ceiling, offensively. But just as we all saw on Wednesday, expect some ups and downs as the Spurs continue to experiment.

“They better play well or we’re in trouble,” Popovich said. “Those are the big guys. They’re tall. They’re big. They’re gonna start. They’re getting used to each other, trying to figure out where to be in relation to the perimeter players.”

A 7-foot Manu

Manu Ginobili retired in 2018 from the Spurs. But if you ever wondered how the Hall of Famer might’ve looked in a seven-foot frame, Wembanyama flashed a glimpse in the first quarter. Picking off a pass from Aaron Holiday, the Frenchman pulled off Ginobili’s flashy nutmeg move on the ensuing break by dribbling the ball in between the legs of Reggie Bullock Jr., before hitting Charles Bassey with a behind-the-neck pass under the basket.

“I’ve been waiting for the occasion to try it,” Wembanyama said. “I don’t want to limit myself to what’s conventional. I want to expand my game as much as I can. I think that was a good move.”

The play represented yet another example of the 19-year old showcasing something spectators likely have never before seen from a player his size. Get used to it. If possible, buy a ticket to see it up close in person.

It’s not just Wemby

Johnson led the Spurs in scoring last season (22.0 points per game), but Wembanyama will receive even more help on both ends in 2023-24 from rising fourth-year veteran Vassell, who looks poised for a breakout season. Vassell averaged a career-high 18.5 points last season. But he played in 38 games due a knee injury that resulted in surgery.

Now healthy, Vassell, according to several within the organization, has taken on a leadership role, and he’s made strides shooting the 3-ball, even after knocking down at least 34.7% from deep in each of his first three NBA seasons. In three exhibitions, Vassell has connected on 12 of 20 from range. He drained six 3-pointers on October 13 (his career regular-season high is five).

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Michael C. Wright is a senior writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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