Gregg Popovich felt Victor Wembanyama had a "wonderful outing" in his NBA debut with the San Antonio Spurs.
Luka Doncic inspired the Dallas Mavericks to a 126-119 victory over the Spurs at the Frost Bank Center on Wednesday, but all eyes were on the 19-year-old first overall draft pick.
Wembanyama was limited by foul trouble throughout the night and had to step out of the game during stages of the third and fourth quarters.
He ultimately played for 23 minutes and was able to finish with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including some standout moments in the closing stages as he returned to the court for the final seven minutes.
The Frenchman added five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. He connected with three of his five attempts from 3-point range.
"One of the toughest things for a player is you get into foul trouble," Spurs coach Popovich said after the game, per ESPN.
"You never get in a rhythm and you are in and out of the game and that sort of thing.
"So, I thought his maturity showed even at a young age where he came in with the last seven minutes and just played.
"We ran some stuff for him, he executed where a lot of guys would have been totally out of it by then because they were in foul trouble and didn't get the rhythm.
"I thought he had a wonderful outing considering that."
Wembanyama acknowledged the result stopped it from being an ideal evening, but was in an optimistic mood after the loss.
"Lots of emotions for sure, but it would have been perfect with a win," he said. "We are learning and it’s only our first regular season game together.
"It might be frustrating [to be in foul trouble], but always keeping your head up is good for my teammates. I can't show it [frustration] on the court, and we learn every day.
"We're going to watch film and if we notice [issues] on the film, the coaches and ourselves, the players, will make whatever it takes to get better."
Doncic had a triple-double with 33 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, while Kyrie Irving contributed 22 points as Dallas made a winning start.
"It was a hall of fame performance like [Doncic] does almost every night," added Popovich. "He was great. Kyrie wasn't bad either. So, the two future hall of famers got us."
San Antonio is back in action at home to the Houston Rockets on Friday and Doncic, who relished the challenge of facing Wembanyama on his debut, has no doubt the Spurs phenom will thrive in the NBA.
Doncic said: "It was fun. We knew the whole building was going to be loud and everything.
"This is probably one of the best prospects to enter the NBA, so it was fun. For me personally, I like challenges, so that was a fun challenge.
"He obviously has the size like everybody talks about, but the way he moves for 7-5, 7-6 – I don't know what it is, sorry – but he moves incredibly.
"He moves like a point guard almost. So it's pretty amazing to see him. He's going to have a great future, and it's going to be amazing to watch."
The Mavericks will look to make it two straight wins when they take on the Brooklyn Nets at American Airlines Center on Friday.
Kerr demands improvements from Team USA as Olympic opener looms
United States coach Steve Kerr wants to see higher levels of intensity from his team as their Olympics campaign approaches.
Kerr was unhappy with the lacklustre displays from his side in their warm-ups against Germany and South Sudan.
Germany led 71-68 at the end of the third quarter before LeBron James conjured up 11 points in the final four minutes to give the USA a 92-88 win, while South Sudan were 20 seconds away from pulling off one of the biggest shocks in basketball history, before eventually falling to a 101-100 loss.
The USA face a dangerous Serbia side featuring reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic on Sunday, and Kerr is adamant that improvements are required if they are to win a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
He said: "It's got to be 40 minutes of force and attention and focus, and we can't let teams outplay us effort and energy-wise like we did the other night against Germany, like we did against South Sudan.
“We have another level. I think we have another two levels that we can get to, but it's a collaboration, always.
"We can show them, 'Let's do this, let's do that. Let's learn personnel.'
"We got to know the shooters, know the non-shooters, all that stuff. So that's where we can help them. Where they can help themselves is just effort and energy play after play, after play. This is different."
Kerr is a four-time NBA champion as a coach, and was part of the triumphant Olympics team in Tokyo in 2021, but the Golden State Warriors boss knows the experience of the Games will only be enhanced if the USA were to come out on top again.
"This should be one of the great experiences of our lives. But the best way to make it an incredible experience is to win a gold medal," he said.
After facing Serbia, the USA will once again go up against South Sudan, this time in a competitive format, before ending the group stage with a match against Puerto Rico.
Durant warns Team USA 'everybody is a contender' in Olympic basketball tournament
Kevin Durant has warned Team USA they will not have an easy ride through the basketball tournament at the Paris Olympic Games, declaring: "Everybody is a contender".
The United States will go in search of a fifth straight men's basketball gold in the French capital, where they open their Group C campaign against Serbia on Sunday.
After that meeting with Nikola Jokic and company, the star-studded USA team featuring Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and a host of other NBA stars take on South Sudan and Puerto Rico.
With Steve Kerr having so much talent at his disposal, the roster has been compared to that of the 1992 'Dream Team', who took gold in Barcelona behind the efforts of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen and other great names.
However, at a press conference ahead of Team USA's 2024 opener, Curry reminded reporters that the class of 1992 only faced nine other active NBA players.
Durant is expecting a much tougher assignment this year, responding to Curry by saying: "Everybody is a contender. Everyone is here for a reason.
"We're playing against 65 or 64 NBA players in Paris. So you know they're the best in the world."
Asked to identify the main players to watch from other nations, the Phoenix Suns forward said: "Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or Jokic."
While Durant adopted a cautious tone, Golden State Warriors star Curry was more bullish regarding the USA's gold medal hopes.
Quizzed on who he was most excited about facing, Curry simply said: "Whoever's in the gold medal game."
Knicks, head coach Thibodeau agree to three-year contract extension
The New York Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau have agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
New York went 50-32 last season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference before losing to the Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals of the play-offs.
The Knicks were also ousted in the East semis in 2022-23 and reached the play-offs during Thibodeau’s first season in 2021-22, when he won his second NBA Coach of the Year award.
Prior to 2021-22, New York’s previous post-season appearance came in 2013.
The Knicks have gone 175-143 over the last four seasons under Thibodeau, who earned his first NBA Coach of the Year award in 2011 as a rookie head coach with the Chicago Bulls.
The 66-year-old Thibodeau owns a 527-389 record in 12 seasons as a head coach with Chicago, the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York.
His teams have gone 38-47 in the post-season, and Thibodeau’s only appearance in the conference finals came in his rookie head coach season.
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