What We Learned from the Spurs loss to the Nuggets

We’re all very lucky we get to watch this. Not even just as Spurs fans. I’m talking like, as basketball fans. As Sports fans. As Human beings. We’re getting to watch something great unfold right in front of our eyes. It’s like watching the Grand Canyon take shape in real time. It’s not the first time this kid has left me at a loss for words and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

Most of the conversation around Victor right now has, frankly, very little to do with him. It’s all about the supporting cast. The people that are there right now and the people that aren’t. The people who might be there in the future and the people that won’t be. I’m as guilty of it as anyone. I can’t stop thinking about how to build around him and what kind of pieces they need to get. The actual basketball in front of my face often feels secondary to to the hypothetical games coming down the pike

One of the coolest things about Victor is that he doesn’t seem to care about any of that. Sure, maybe he’s got plans and dreams and hope for the future, but he also seems extremely locked in on the now. He’s mad. He’s fired up. He doesn’t care about the context or the bigger picture, only about the game right there in front of his face. He wants to take that game and wrestle it into submission. He doesn’t want to win in the future, he wants to win right now.

From a narrative perspective, you can see how that could get misconstrued for impatience. The Spurs need to speed up their time line. The Spurs can’t afford to wait around. I hear it and I get it. But I don’t think that’s what this is. Victor is smart enough to hold two thoughts in his head. He can walk and chew gum at the same time. He can be aware of the bigger picture without sacrificing the competitive fire that’s driving him to be great in the first place.