Add another honor to the growing Victor Wembanyama legend as he secures a unique spot within the storied history of the San Antonio Spurs franchise. In being selected as a starter in the 2026 All-Star Game, the recently turned 22-year-old becomes only the fifth Spur ever to start in the annual NBA classic.
Not on that list are Pro Basketball Hall-of-Famers Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, who are widely regarded as two of the best six players in team history.
While the selection marks Wemby’s second consecutive All-Star nod, it’s his first as a starter. With the distinction, he joins San Antonio icons Tim Duncan and David Robinson, both of whom, like Wembanyama, are big men who went first overall in their respective drafts. The 2023 top overall draftee appears on his way to navigating turnarounds as Duncan and Robinson did before him.
Robinson’s rookie year marked the greatest single-season turnaround in league history at the time. It was a record that stood until the Spurs broke it again, by a game (36) in Duncan’s first year as a pro, eight seasons later. The Spurs won their first-ever championship in Duncan’s second year.
As of this latest Wembanyama accolade, the Spurs sport 29 wins through mid January and sit second in the Western Conference standings. They won 34 games all of last season.
Kawhi Leonard, who earned 2014 Finals MVP honors, and Alvin Robertson, an NBA Defensive Player of the Year and four-time All-Star, round out the players in franchise history who’ve been selected as starters. San Antonio has now had at least one All-Star selection in 43 of the 49 NBA All-Star Games since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976, tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most of any franchise in that span.
A look inside Victor Wembanyama’s 2025-2026 season
The Spurs’ leading scorer for a third straight season has helped guide the Spurs to a 29-13 mark by averaging a career-best 24.5 points to go along with 10.9 rebounds, three assists, and 2.6 blocks in just under 29 minutes in 28 games. He is also shooting a career-high 51.6% (238-461) from the field and 38.2% (47-123) from beyond the arc. The 2023-2024 Rookie of the Year is the only player in the NBA averaging 20-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and two-or-more blocks. He leads the NBA in blocks per game and ranks fourth in rebounding.
This season, the 2023-2024 Defensive Player of the Year runner-up extended his streak of consecutive games with a block to 101, which represents the third-longest streak in NBA history and set a franchise record. On January 13 at the Oklahoma City Thunder, he blocked the 500th shot of his career, becoming the second-youngest player in NBA history to have 500 blocks and fourth fastest ever to 500 at 143 games, joining Robinson, Manute Bol and Mark Eaton.
In a November victory at the Chicago Bulls, Wemby became the first player in NBA history to record 35-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, 5-plus assists, 5-plus three-pointers and 5-plus blocks in a game.
The 7-foot-5 phenom will suit up for the World Team on February 15 in a new format with two teams of players born in the United States and one team of international players competing in a round robin tournament. All-Star Starters were determined through a weighted vote by fans (50%), current NBA players (25%), and a media panel (25%).
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