What we learned as Kings have no answer for Victor Wembanyama in loss to Spurs

What we learned as Kings have no answer for Victor Wembanyama in loss to Spurs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SACRAMENTO — The Kings opened their 2026 NBA Cup play, seeking their second win of the season, but fell to the reigning Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs, 124-109, on Friday night at Golden 1 Center.

Old friend De’Aaron Fox was back in Sacramento, playing in his sixth game against his former team. Fox had a relatively quiet night, finishing with just nine points in 26 minutes.

But unlike his time in Sacramento, Fox doesn’t have to do too much to get his team a win.

San Antonio superstar Victor Wembanyama had a brief injury scare in the second quarter, grabbing his ankle after landing on Domantas Sabonis’ foot after a 3-point attempt. The foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 1, and Wembanyama returned to the game.

Wembanyama finished with 30 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 26 minutes.

The well-rounded Spurs had contributions from up and down their roster, with Devin Vassell, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper pouring in 19 points each.

De’Andre Hunter, who has started every game so far this season for the Kings, was a late scratch due to an illness. Two-way forward Leaky Black replaced him in the starting lineup Friday, and Black contributed 12 points — all from beyond the arc — with three rebounds, four assists and two steals in 39 minutes.

Leaky says gimme that 😤 pic.twitter.com/dL17yYxmXm

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 7, 2026

Kings rookie Darius Acuff Jr. led the Kings in scoring with 22 points and eight assists in 33 minutes.

Malik Monk and Emanuel Sharp each knocked down three 3-pointers off the bench. Domantas Sabonis had a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double, adding five assists in 31 minutes.

Here are the takeaways from the Kings’ eighth loss of the season:

You can’t stop Victor Wembanyama, but you can try to limit him.

On Friday, the Kings couldn’t do either.

The 7-foot-4 center, coming off a game in which he finished with 52 points, 24 rebounds and eight blocks in San Antonio’s win over the Dallas Mavericks, finished with 30 points against the Kings on Friday.

Wemby shot an efficient 10 of 18 from the field and knocked down four 3-pointers.

WEMBY THREW DOWN 5 SLAMS IN THE 1H 💥

20 PTS | 8 REB pic.twitter.com/xSosKSAMRC

— NBA (@NBA) November 7, 2026

It wasn’t De’Aaron Fox’s first game back in Sacramento as an opponent, but there will always be extra attention on this matchup — regardless of what anyone says.

Fox spent the first eight years of his NBA career in Sacramento before being traded to San Antonio in February 2025. His departure remains a topic of debate among Kings fans, who gave him a mixed reaction during Spurs introductions on Friday.

Spurs point guard De’Aaron Fox returns to Sacramento for the first time this season pic.twitter.com/5EJaG9kBO8

— Tristi Rodriguez (@tristi_r14) November 7, 2026

Since his exit, Fox has maintained that he’s grateful for his time in Sacramento but has moved on and is focused on leading the Spurs.

On Friday, he finished with nine points on 2-of-6 shooting, with two rebounds, four assists, two turnovers, one steal and one block in 26 minutes.

Entering Friday’s game, Darius Acuff Jr. ranked third in the entire NBA in field-goal attempts.

There has been chatter about the amount of shots he’s been putting up, although Kings coach Doug Christie has maintained that he’s OK with it, given that Acuff is a 19-year-old rookie still figuring things out.

Entering Friday’s game, Acuff also ranked in the top 15 in assists, averaging about seven per game.

Acuff SOMEHOW finds Domas for the and-1 🤯 pic.twitter.com/D7b5q1Meun

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 7, 2026

On Friday, Acuff finished with 22 points on 9 of 20 from the field and 3 of 9 from downtown, adding three rebounds, eight assists, two turnovers and two steals in 33 minutes.

He scored 20-plus points for the fifth consecutive game, making him the eighth rookie in franchise history with five straight 20-point outings.

But Acuff is the last person to care about stats and records if they’re not leading to wins.

And for Sacramento right now, they’re not, as the team fell to 1-8 on the season.

Download and follow The Deuce & Mo Podcast