Despite playing without Jamal Murray, the Denver Nuggets were expected to close out their five-game homestand on a winning note. Even though Nikola Jokic and Co. did end up with the win, Victor Wembanyama led the San Antonio Spurs to put up an incredible fight, giving the defending champs a run for their money. In a tough 105-110 loss, Wembanyama impressed everyone with a historic near quadruple-double performance.
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Victor Wembanyama played for 34 minutes tonight and nearly led the San Antonio Spurs to stage a shocking upset. Showing off his versatility, the French phenom was an asset on both ends of the floor, recording 23 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, and a monster 9 blocks, according to NBA.com.
Wemby’s stat line looks almost unbelievable. And as expected, the youngster has shattered many records and gotten his name in the history books tonight. One of them being the 7ft 4” center is only the fourth player in league history to record seven or more games with 20+ points, 5+ assists, and 5+ blocks in a single season. The other three players to achieve the same – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson. Clearly, Wembanyama has found himself in some elite company.
The 20-year-old is already showing signs of how great he could really go on to be for the San Antonio Spurs. In fact, there is a good chance that the franchise becomes a dynasty all over again, as he continues to develop into potentially one of the greatest of all time.
Victor Wembanyama has had an unforgettable rookie campaign
As stunning as it sounds, Victor Wembanyama has superseded all the surreal expectations set for him. In only his rookie campaign, the Spurs big man is averaging a staggering 21.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 3.5 blocks per game, per NBA.com.
Across a sensational season, Wembanyama has had several historic games. A couple of these moments occurred in the past week. After tonight’s game, apart from joining the company of Abdul-Jabbar, Olajuwon, and Robinson, Wemby also joined Tim Duncan as only the second rookie ever to reach 1,400 points, 700 rebounds, 200 assists, and 200 blocks.
Further, the European prodigy also joined Shaquille O’Neal in two impressive feats. During the Spurs’ 29th March contest against the New York Knicks, Wembanyama recorded 40 points, 20 rebounds, and 7 assists. Over the last 40 seasons, Wemby was only the second rookie to lodge a 40/20 game, other than Shaq.
Exactly one game before this contest, Wembanyama also reached the 300 ‘stocks’ milestone – a record that no rookie since Shaq has been able to accomplish.
Having won the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January, February, and March, at this point Wembanyama is definitely going to prove his worth by living up to the hype and winning the Rookie of the Year.
