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Victor Wembanyama sent the San Antonio Spurs back to the playoffs in dramatic fashion.
Wembanyama hit a 17-foot jumper with one second left to give the Spurs a 101-100 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night at the Frost Bank Center to send the Spurs back to the playoffs for the first time in six seasons.
The 22-year-old’s winning shot capped a furious last-minute reaction. The Spurs trailed 100-95 with 1:13 left after Suns forward Jordan Goodwin hit a 3-pointer.
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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, center, celebrates with his teammates after scoring the game-winning shot against the Phoenix Suns in the final seconds in San Antonio, Texas, on March 19, 2026. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)
Wembanyama sparked the comeback when he grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled by Suns star Devin Booker and made two free throws to cut the Suns’ lead to 100-97. Booker then missed a shot at the other end, and Spurs point guard De’Aaron Fox quickly converted a layup to make the score 100-99.
The Suns had a chance to take a three-point lead when Wembanyama fouled Rasheer Fleming. However, Fleming missed both free throws and the Spurs corralled the rebound and immediately called a timeout.
Wembanyama took advantage of missed free throws and scored the winning shot, sending the Spurs back to the playoffs.
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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) is celebrated by teammates Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell (24) and others after making a game-winning shot against the Phoenix Suns in the final seconds in San Antonio, Texas, on March 19, 2026. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)
Wembanyama said after the game that he was playing in wine-stained shorts after someone spilled wine on him.
“It was hard to take in all the stimuli around me,” Wembanyama said. “I had fans looking at me. A guy spilled wine on me. And that was before the end of the game. I had made the shot. I was running back on defense and hitting a guy, and now I had wine in my shorts. There was a lot going on.”
Wembanyama, who scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the win, said he was happy to make the playoffs, but not satisfied.
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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama is celebrated by fans after hitting a game-winning shot against the Phoenix Suns in the final seconds in San Antonio, Texas, on March 19, 2026. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)
“Of course, the first instinct is to be proud of it and love it because we’re a part of it,” Wembanyama said. “But the key for me is to try not to care because we want to attack 82 games. I’m afraid of getting complacent. So I’ll be on the other end of the spectrum right now. I try not to care at all.”
The Spurs are 52-18 and are three games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder (55-15) for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
