Eight games into the 2023-24 NBA season, the San Antonio Spurs are sitting at 3-5, an inverse of last season’s 5-3 start. With the season basically only 10 percent over, it’s too early to draw definite conclusions about this young squad, but trends are starting to be set.

Unlike last season, the Spurs are receiving some national attention. The arrival of Victor Wembanayma means the press is swarming the Spurs with questions and scrutiny regarding their superstar in the making. Wemby is 19 years old and very much adjusting to the NBA, but he seems unfazed by the attention. Granted, all the cameras were in his face well before the season started, so he has been able to get used to it.

The Spurs were not expected to be seriously involved in the playoff race, but their losses include two 40-point blowouts, one 21-point loss, and a blown lead that went to overtime. Safe to say that the Spurs are not good at closing, which is to be expected with such a young squad.

With the season 10 percent finished, we can start to issue some judgments. As expected, most of them are negative, hence the good, bad, and the ugly.

The good, clearly, is Wembanyama. He leads all rookies in points and blocks and is second in rebounds. He is clearly a focal point of the Spurs’ offense and consumes opponents’ defense, who all scramble to make sure he can’t get an open look.

Wembanyama is already showcasing his ability to take over games and is in contention to be named Defensive Player of the Year as a rookie, which is downright insane.