PHOENIX — The first time Jordan Ott saw Victor Wembanyama up close was two years ago at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. The Phoenix Suns head coach was an assistant on Darvin Ham’s Lakers staff and Wembanyama was just a couple months into his rookie season.
Asked about this before Sunday night’s 130-118 home win over Wembanyama and the previously unbeaten San Antonio Spurs, Ott smiled. “Not a great memory,” he said.
The Spurs and Lakers that week played two games in three nights. Ott remembers the Lakers dropping both, but they actually split. In the win, Wembanyama had a milestone night, becoming the first rookie in 25 years to post 30 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.
Ott’s lasting impression: He had seen size and shooting touch like that before with Kristaps Porzingis. But this was different: “The handle. The speed. The skill,’’ Ott said. “The ability to maneuver in mid-air and then the ability to still get to the rim after all that.”
In the two years since, Wembanyama has blossomed into an elite force, while Ott has taken over a rebuilding team in the desert, one that still isn’t sure what it can do and what it cannot. That’s why Ott looked forward to Sunday. He wanted to see how the Suns could slow the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama on one end and attack him on the other.
It turned out better than expected at Mortgage Matchup Center. In 34-plus minutes, Wembanyama failed to find an offensive rhythm. After the game, he said the Suns seemed to anticipate everything the Spurs (5-1) wanted to run. And when he caught the ball, he could feel an extra defender always ready to help.
Through three quarters, Wembanyama had more turnovers (five) and fouls (four) than points (two). He finished with nine points, 21 below his season average, on 4-of-14 shooting. It marked the first time the French big man had been held below double digits since Oklahoma City limited him to six points Oct. 30, 2024.
“They probably walked in shoot-around through all of our situations because it seemed like they were ready,” said Wembanyama, who also didn’t attempt a foul shot. “It felt like they would let me touch the ball, but they were ready to double and rotate.”
This is far from a Phoenix trademark. The Suns (3-4) this season had hoped to be better defensively, but results so far have been mixed. Six days earlier in Salt Lake City, the Suns had let Lauri Markkanen get comfortable and the 7-1 forward had torched them for a career-best 51 points in Utah’s 138-134 overtime win. This time their approach was more deliberate.
Ott said Wembanyama’s shot profile has changed this season. He is catching the ball deeper in the post. (“Don’t let them catch it on the spot they want to,” Ott said.) To combat this, the Suns wanted to show Wembanyama as many bodies as possible. They wanted to limit his offensive rebounding. Perhaps most important, they wanted to keep him off the foul line. Through five games Wembanyama had averaged 9.6 free throw attempts, more than double the 4.1 he had averaged in 46 games last season.
Royce O’Neale started on Wembanyama. At 32, the 6-6 forward is Phoenix’s oldest player, and he often gets overlooked. In college, O’Neale was more of a slasher, someone who attacked the rim. In the NBA, he has turned into a solid shooter. Defensively, O’Neale is versatile. Already this season he has defended Markkanen as well as Memphis big man Jaren Jackson, Jr., giving up size each time. Ott said the coaching staff considers O’Neale like a “security blanket,” knowing he will not back down from a challenge.
Good defensive possessions end with a rebound. pic.twitter.com/QvhKRWaiJ5
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) November 3, 2025
But O’Neale had help. Big men Mark Williams and Nick Richards, forward Oso Ighodaro and even 6-3 guard Jordan Goodwin, took turns defending Wembanyama. In the first quarter, the San Antonio center circled off a screen in the low post but Devin Booker immediately switched and fronted him. A possession later, Wembanyama caught an entry pass with Goodwin behind him, but forward Nigel Hayes-Davis dropped to double, forcing the ball from Wembanyama’s hands.
“Once you see a plan work like that, you gain confidence in the script,” Booker said.
Phoenix led by as many as 31. Booker played with an edge against San Antonio’s Stephon Castle, finishing with 28 points and 13 assists. Forward Ryan Dunn and guard Grayson Allen combined for 34 points, making 8 of 14 from 3-point range. Overall, the Suns shot 58.2 percent and made 19 of 33 from deep. They had 34 assists and worked around Wembanyama’s length.
In the first quarter, Allen caught the ball in transition, pump-faked and burst into the lane. As the veteran guard exploded toward the rim, his eyes darted to Wembanyama, closing in from the left. Wembanyama blocked four shots against Phoenix, but this time he held back. Allen threw down a one-handed dunk.
“When you’re playing them, you can’t just go for a dunk not knowing where he is,’’ Allen said. “I had to see if he was going to sell out and try to block it or if I had a lane.”
After a rough start to the season, the rebuilding Suns — who still are without injured starters Jalen Green (right hamstring) and Dillon Brooks (core muscle strain) — have pieced together three strong defensive efforts. Asked if this was the best, Ott mentioned the upcoming schedule, which starts Tuesday at Golden State and includes back-to-back games against the Clippers. Bigger tests await, he said, “but I do think we took a good step in (the right) direction.”