The line of reporters documenting Victor Wembanyama’s every move leading up to the game was proof certain that there would be interesting moments.

It doesn’t matter if the San Antonio Spurs had only won 11 games; the first-round pick’s game against the Lakers in Los Angeles was undoubtedly significant even though the result was inevitable.

Ultimately, the Lakers intimidated their way to a 123-118 victory over Wembanyama and the young Spurs, showcasing their indisputable talent advantage.

But there was more to the game on Friday. It was the final opportunity to iron out some bugs before the calendar moves into one of the most crucial parts of the season thus far. It was more than just a West Coast introduction to a guy the Lakers will probably battle for the next ten or more years.The Lakers play seven of their next nine games against teams with superior records, starting on Sunday at Phoenix. One of those games is against the Golden State Warriors, who defeated the Lakers just now and are rising quickly from their No. 10 position in the West.  And in that regard, the Lakers’ first home game following the All-Star break had both advantages and disadvantages.

This is the reason head coach Darvin Ham waited to speak about Wembanyama until after the victory to express his anger with his squad.

“You want your team to look within all the time, try to make plays, and make the other team uncomfortable,” Ham stated. You shouldn’t put yourself in awkward situations by failing to rush back in transition or by letting teams grab two or three offensive rebounds. 

Or, you know, fouling because we don’t finish our work in time and aren’t in position. and finally turning around and losing faith in the execution.

“We have a lot of weapons, but they are useless if we don’t do the little things. We need to make the simple, easy play, maintain spacing, sprint hard when we get the ball in transition, and make sure we get hits on screens to gain an advantage.”That was the test on Friday; they performed well enough to defeat the Spurs. Then it gets even harder.

 With LeBron James back in play, the offence kept getting better. He and Anthony Davis led an unbeaten starting five that also included Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and others to their sixth consecutive victory.  James, who finished with 30 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds, remarked, “I felt pretty good.” To be honest, I was more taken aback by how well my wind was working. Ankle, however, fared well. performed merely mediocrely. I was excited to go play and support my team’s victory.

That was the most crucial thing. 

After missing the Lakers’ previous two games to obtain therapy for his ailing left ankle, James was able to push Spurs defenders around the court and quickly establish an offensive rhythm. Against Wembanyama, one of the rare players who has an equal impact on the game as he does, Davis finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds.

Russell finished with six assists and 22 points. Reaves contributed 10 points and nine assists, while Hachimura finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.

 Not only did Wembanyama score 27 points and grab 10 rebounds, but he also made five steals, blocked five shots, and dishevelled eight assists. In NBA history, it was the 22nd “5 by 5” game, meaning a player had at least five in five different categories. 

He is only the second player to accomplish it against the Lakers and is the youngest to do so at the age of 20. (Vlade Divac is the only Laker to have accomplished this; but, there are few recordings until the late 1970s.)

Reaves laughed and remarked, “He’s 7-foot-12.” He added that he had given up keeping track of how many of his shots Wembanyama had stopped. 

James stated, “He doesn’t have a ceiling.”

The health of James and the Lakers squad will undoubtedly determine if they can play to their potential.

He would only remark that he hoped the therapy would provide relief and enable him to close out the season as strongly as possible, without providing any further information on the procedures he underwent for his ankle.

 James clarified, “It wasn’t something we just came up with out of the blue.” Knowing the schedule, we had already timed this months prior. Thus, we’re just trying to figure out how to make the most of the days that we have available in that brief window of time between last Tuesday and today’s game. It proved to be advantageous.