Wembanyama is unreal: 52 points, 8 blocks: “I tried to lead by example”
Victor Wembanyama delivers a historic performance with 52 points, 24 rebounds and 8 blocks. But after the game, the Frenchman is thinking mostly about his mistakes
Some games look like they came straight out of a video game. And then there are Victor Wembanyama’s games. Every so often, he does things that are hard to imagine even with a controller in your hands.
Against the Dallas Mavericks, the Frenchman put up what the numbers say was the best performance of his NBA career: 52 points, 24 rebounds and 8 blocks. He led the San Antonio Spurs to their sixth straight win, 112-111.
Both his point and rebound totals were career highs. But to see just how extraordinary his night was, look at what he had already done after two quarters.
At halftime, Wemby had 29 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks, becoming the first player in the play-by-play era, which began in 1996-97, to record at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in a single half.
And there’s more.
The second quarter also featured a remarkable sequence: three blocks in just 13 seconds, all on the same possession. That sequence might show better than any stat how difficult it can be to score when Wembanyama decides to protect the rim.
Wembanyama makes NBA history, but he’s thinking about his mistakes
To find another player who finished a game with at least 50 points, 20 rebounds and 5 blocks, you have to go all the way back to 1974, when Bob McAdoo did it. The stat goes back to the 1973-74 season, when the NBA began officially tracking blocks.
Wembanyama also joined Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor as the only players to record at least 50 points and 20 rebounds in a one-point win.
Yet after the game, the Frenchman didn’t seem particularly interested in celebrating his records.
I tried to lead by example. I wish I’d set better screens down the stretch and made more free throws. But you can’t be perfect
Victor Wembanyama
He was referring mainly to going 1-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 2 minutes and 10 seconds, which nearly complicated a game he had dominated for long stretches.
Wembanyama shared another detail that made the performance even more remarkable: he hadn’t been feeling well in the days leading up to the game because of a virus.
I haven’t been feeling great lately… Tonight I felt like I got my legs back
Victor Wembanyama
It’s hard to imagine what he might have done if he’d felt 100 percent.
Shaquille O’Neal was among the many who weighed in on the performance, summing up in a few words what makes Wembanyama such an unusual player.
We’ve never seen a player like him do the things he can do
Shaquille O’Neal
And that’s exactly the point. Wembanyama has already put up numbers that place him alongside some of the greatest NBA legends, with most of his career still ahead of him.
The most impressive part, though, is that after a game with 52 points, 24 rebounds and 8 blocks, he still found something he wasn’t happy with. If this is his level when he thinks he can do better, the rest of the NBA could have a real problem.