Johnson acknowledged that Wembanyama had tried on multiple occasions to convince staff to allow him to return. Wembanyama leads San Antonio in scoring (24.0), rebounding (11.6) and blocks (3.0). “The one thing that’s very consistent is that it’s very direct and simple,” Johnson said. “So his speech is always, ‘I can play. I’m ready to play. I’m ready to play.’ So you respect that and you love that mentality and competitiveness. He also continues to remind us as an organization and the few people who have those conversations with him that we have a duty to support him in a way that’s best for him now and for a long time because he’s too important to this league. He deserves it.”
ESPN
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Victor Wembanyama had been pushing to return sooner than the team preferred.