Victor Wembanyama Believes He Isn’t Ready for a Ring Yet After NBA Finals Loss

It's party time in New York, with the Knicks celebrating their first championship in 53 years. But for the San Antonio Spurs, it's a moment of self-reflection, as their young core led by Victor Wembanyama fell short in the final hurdle. Head coach Mitch Johnson bluntly declared that his players "weren't ready" to win an NBA Championship, something Victor Wembanyama addressed postgame.

"Obviously, we weren't ready. I wasn't ready to win a ring. That's obvious," Wemby replied to a French reporter asking his thoughts on the HC's comments. "I think in terms of desire to do well, intensity, and effort, we were at a good level. I was at a good level.

But experience," he continued. "It's mistakes. We don't lack talent, we don't lack ability, we just make too many mistakes. And I make too many mistakes."

As the team's clear leader, the 7-foot-4 superstar has already shown he is willing to take accountability. Beyond that, he has also shown a desire to get better in pursuit of greatness.

It's unfair to say that the Spurs were terrible in the 2026 Finals. They started every game hot, building a lead of 10+ points in every game of the series. But it was their inability to hold on and close the game that cost them in the end.

While the sting of this Finals defeat is something that Wembanyama may feel for some time, it could also fuel him to get better.

The 2026 DPOY already has a roadmap to guide him, based on the errors he committed throughout this series.

How Did Victor Wembanyama Perform in the Finals?

Victor Wembanyama may not have been otherworldly. But his stats in his first-ever NBA Finals appearance (in his third year in the NBA) certainly pass the eye test.

At only 22 years old, he already led his team in scoring and rebounding, with 26.0 points and 11.2 rebounds. However, digging deeper into those stats reveals that he lacked efficiency. He averaged a team-high 20.8 field goal attempts per game, with a lowly 42.3 percent success rate. One of the biggest culprits for his horrible shooting performance was his over-reliance on 3-pointers.

Much of the criticism surrounding him centered on his lack of attempts closer to the hoop, where his natural stature gives him a pronounced advantage. He took a total of 33 shots from beyond the arc in the Finals, and made only 9 of them.

This insistence on operating too much in the perimeter was already being criticized before the NBA Finals. In fact, throughout this playoff run, he attempted 114 shots from downtown and made only 39. That's a 34.2 percent conversion rate, which is not bad for a guard. However, for a towering 7-foot-4 freak of nature, it brings his shot IQ into heavy scrutiny.

In the first two games of the series, he also didn't take care of the ball well. He had a combined ten turnovers in Games 1 and 2, including a crucial one that directly contributed to their loss in the second game of the series.

On the upside, Wembanyama's defensive prowess was on full display. He rejected a total of 18 Knicks shots and altered many more, which made it tougher to get buckets inside.

Overall, the Finals series offered plenty of lessons. The question now is whether Victor Wembanyama can build on that experience and eventually lead the Spurs to an NBA title.

San Antonio's young core, including Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, will also continue to develop, while Coach Johnson will have valuable takeaways to help the team return stronger in 2026-27.