Harrison Barnes Shares Candid Thoughts on Spurs Star Victor Wembanyama

Harrison Barnes has been in the NBA since 2012 and played with and against some of the best players the league has ever seen.

That gives the veteran player enough hindsight to realize he’s in the midst of something special. After watching Victor Wembanyama lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 118-91 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder while dropping 28 points and 10 rebounds, Barnes raved about the young star’s leadership.

“Just his approach after the game, the things he said in the locker room to us as a team — when you say all these things, then you back it up with actions, it kind of has an effect,” Barnes said after the game. “As a leader being able to do that, being able to talk the talk and then walk the walk with play, that’s a rare combination.”

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Barnes loved the way Wembanyama took ownership of his mistakes in the team’s three losses of the series, especially in Game 5 when he received a warning from the NBA for his conduct after the game.

“Taking the criticism and acknowledging how he can be better in some of the games, whether it’s Game 2, Game 3, Game 5, and then responding that way, you don’t see a lot of guys in their third year with this level of responsibility that he has on our team to be able to step into that moment with the comfort that he has,” Barnes said.

Barnes finished the game with six points after making 2-of-4 3-pointers – his only shots of the game.

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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 10:47 AM.