Wednesday marked the official NBA debut of Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama, which came in the form of a nationally televised matchup with Luka Dončić and the Mavericks. Fans and reporters alike flocked to see Wembanyama in his first regular-season game, drawing a media crowd that surprised even San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich.
Popovich joked with reporters ahead of the Wembanyama-Dončić headliner, asking if everyone was there to watch him and Dallas coach Jason Kidd ply their trade.
“Did you all come to watch Jason and I coach?” Popovich asked, per Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
To give a better idea of just how crowded the media area was for Wembanyama’s debut, there were more than 200 credentials distributed for the game, according to NBA.com’s Michael C. Wright. From a fan perspective, the Spurs also released a “limited number” of standing-room-only seats for the game, according to a team spokesperson.
Attendance for the game was announced at 18,947, several hundred more than the official capacity of Frost Bank Center, which is listed as 18,354.
