Wednesday marked the first night of Inside the NBA on ESPN, along with another possible landmark in NBA history. Basketball fans may look back on October 22, 2025, as the day when Victor Wembanyama began to take over the league.
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The French big man was phenomenal in the 92-124 rout of the Dallas Mavericks. The Spurs center racked up 40 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks without turning the ball over a single time. He put together a highlight reel in a single game that most All-Stars couldn’t match if given an entire season.
Wemby was guarded by Anthony David, one of the best defenders in the NBA, for much of the game. But the French star went over, around, and through the Brow with ease. He threw down a reverse alley-oop, made a tough and-1 fadeaway, and was unstoppable in every sense of the word.
Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson decided to use Wemby’s virtuoso performance as an opportunity to stick it to Shaquille O’Neal. They tallied up how many points Wemby would make if he went against the Big Diesel. Reacting to it, Shaq grew increasingly and hilariously more sullen and annoyed.
“You can’t guard Wemby out that 3-point line!” Barkley said, to which Shaq responded, “I’m not known for defense, but you know what I am known for eating? French fries and French toast.”
A theoretical Shaq vs. Wemby matchup is almost too tantalizing to consider. On one side, you have raw power, and on the other, you have length combined with balletic agility. It’s the basketball equivalent of a prime Mike Tyson vs. prime Muhammad Ali bout.
Wemby’s achievements on the night were undeniable, but Shaq did try to deny them anyway. Wemby swatted a Dereck Lively II shot in the paint, then brought the ball up the floor and put the former Duke big man on skates as he drained a stepback 3 while drawing a foul. And yet, Shaq was not impressed.
“Oh, you never seen a 7-footer do that? KEVIN DURANT, SHUT THE HELL UP!” In fairness to Shaq, Wemby did look eerily like KD on this play, but that’s what was so impressive about it. Durant is unstoppable at 7-foot, so what is anybody supposed to do about someone who’s at least 7’5″?
Johnson also brought up Shaq-favorite Bol Bol as a big man with perimeter skills, to which Shaq replied, “Oh, that’s right, Bol Bol, tell ’em Ernie. Cut it out,” he said to Chuck and Kenny. “Kevin Durant does that all the time.”
There’s nothing the Inside the NBA guys like better than to give each other a hard time. All in good fun, of course. True to form, they circled back and complimented Shaq once they finished gushing over Wemby’s highlights. The crew showed a graphic of every player in NBA history who has ever scored 40 and grabbed 15 rebounds without turning it over once.
Wemby just accomplished it for the first time, but he’ll need to do it twice more to catch Shaq, who’s tied with Anthony Davis for the most ever at three. Moses Malone is the only other one to do it, and he did it twice.
It’s been a hell of a start to the season for the NBA, and for its new media deal. The NBA on NBC drew rave reviews for its opening night coverage, and it got a Game of the Year contender when OKC beat Houston in double overtime.
Inside the NBA debuted on ESPN with a performance for the ages by the league’s next big thing. And the show felt just like it always has.
