Victor Wembanyama has arrived!
After showing flashes of his unreal potential to start the season, in the fifth game of his NBA career, the No. 1 overall pick put it all together, producing a historic performance featuring highlight after highlight as he turned the Footprint Center into his personal playground.
En route to a monster night, finishing with 38 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks on 15-of-26 shooting and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, Wembanyama dazzled the crowd with his alien-like moves, rewriting the record books in the process.
Victor Wembanyama stats vs Suns
- 38 points (15-26 field goals, 3-6 3-point field goals, 5-6 free throws)
- 10 rebounds
- 2 blocks
- 2 assists
- 1 steal
- 2 turnovers
- 3 fouls
- 35 minutes
Victor Wembanyama joins legendary company
Wembanyama's trajectory to becoming an all-time great NBA big man is right on track as he put his name alongside two iconic big men tonight.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Wembanyama is the first player since Shaquille O'Neal in 1992 to have 100 points and 10 blocks in his first five games.
Recording 103 points through his first five games, Wembanyama also joined David Robinson as the only Spurs rookies to score 100 or more in that span, with his 38 points tonight tied for the third-most by a Spurs rookie, just three shy of Robinsons' record of 41.
Something tells me that record is in danger.
Wembanyama also joined Kevin Durant and LeBron James as the only teenagers in NBA history to produce a stat line of 35+ points, 10+ rebounds and 2+ blocks.
If you missed the Wembanyama show in Phoenix, The Sporting News has you covered with all the best plays and highlights from his scintillating performance.
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Victor Wembanyama soars through the lane
You might be forgiven for thinking you were watching Space Jam, because this dunk was just wild.
As the Spurs got out on the break, Tre Jones smartly held up the play, waiting for a Wembanyama, who caught the ball behind the free throw line, before taking flight for the two-handed slam.
The way he covers such large amounts of space needs to be studied.
Victor Wembanyama combines with Tre Jones for the alley-oop
Just throw it up near the rim.
As the Suns' defensive rotation got caught napping, Wembanyama connected with Tre Jones once again, who launched the dime from beyond the 3-point line to find his center flying toward the hoop.
Jones' vision and playmaking are exactly what Wembanyama needs in a point guard.
The numbers paint a pretty picture:
Wemby steps into the triple to cap off a huge first half
In perhaps the ultimate sign of the modern NBA in full effect, Wembanyama brought the ball up the floor with the clock ticking down on the first half, calmly stepping into a 3-pointer and rising up over Drew Eubanks like he was a traffic cone to splash it home.
He finished the first half with 20 points — more points than he'd scored in three of his first four full games.
Victor Wembanyama and Malaki Branham execute the give-and-go
Alright, this might be my favourite.
Mainly, because how exactly do you stop this?
Handling the ball at the top of the key, Wembanyama gets the switch onto a smaller defender in Grayson Allen, but rather than trying to go by him, he dishes it off to Malaki Branham and the second the ball leaves his hands he makes his move to the rim calling for the alley-oop.
Welcome to the Victor Wembanyama spin cycle
A big man doing a spin move isn't all that impressive.
A big man doing a spin move from the left block, taking one dribble and hitting a left-handed reverse layup. Well, that's just nasty.
It was a long night for Drew Eubanks.