San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama had an incredible performance that earned him a spot in the record books alongside some of the greatest players in NBA history.
Wembanyama scored 34 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, handed out six assists, and blocked three shots in the Spurs’ 116-96 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
This game marked Wembanyama’s 82nd career game, meaning he has now played a full season’s worth of games. With this remarkable effort, Wembanyama joined a select group of players—Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Blake Griffin, and Sidney Wicks—who are the only ones in NBA history to record 1,700 points, 800 rebounds, and 300 assists in their first 82 games.
Veteran point guard Chris Paul believes Wembanyama still has a lot more to show.
“I wish you guys could see the work that goes in day in and day out,” said Chris Paul. “You know how talented he is, but his will to want to get better. His will to want to work on things. The more games we play, I think we all will get more and more familiar with each other.”
Wembanyama was named Rookie of the Year and finished second to his fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert for Defensive Player of the Year last season. He averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and led the league with 3.6 blocks per game in 71 games.
Despite his strong performance last season, Wembanyama’s numbers have been slightly down this year, although he’s feeling better after spending the summer helping France win a silver medal at the Paris Olympics.
Wembanyama had 24 points, 16 rebounds, and seven blocks in a narrow 111-110 loss to Utah on Saturday. He also set a career-high for 3-pointers, hitting 6 of 9 shots from beyond the arc against the Jazz.
This was Wembanyama’s third career game with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks, and five 3-pointers—setting a new NBA record for most such games, surpassing two by Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis.
Against the Kings, Wembanyama matched his career-high with 6 made 3-pointers, going 6 for 12 from deep. After a slow start to the season where his 3-point shooting was just 25%, he’s now 14 for 27 on 3-pointers over his last three games.
“I’m just taking better 3s,” Wembanyama said. “Yeah, of course it’s feeling better. I’m 20, I’m hoping for some years it’s going to keep feeling better and better. There is no reason for it to feel worse.”
