Victor Wembanyama made an absolute statement in the San Antonio Spurs’ 122-115 double-overtime victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, that he is well on his way to becoming one of the GOATs.
Wembanyama went off for 41 points on 14-of-25 shooting, grabbed 24 rebounds, and blocked three shots, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only 22-year-olds to record a 40-point, 20-rebound game in NBA Playoff history.
Wembanyama barely has to get airborne to put points on the board. The 7-foot-4 specimen can just bat the basketball around himself until his oversized hand redirects the ball down the nylon because let’s be real, nobody can even dare to try and outjump him.
“He has a rare desire to step into every moment that’s in front of him,” Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said. “I think he’s showed in his three years in a lot of different situations and a lot of different circumstances that he is going to attack those moments. He has some rare, God-given ability.”
The Thunder have established themselves as a juggernaut on the defensive side of the floor, anchored with suffocating defenders on the perimeter and a 7-foot-1 Chet Holmgren protecting the paint, a matchup Wemby takes personally. But Wembanyama delivered in a myriad of other ways down the stretch against the defending champions.
With about 20 seconds to go in regulation, Wembanyama took the inbounds pass and drove right at Jalen Williams, a world-class defender draped all over him. Wembanyama got him to detach with a heavy jab step and spin move before nailing the turnaround fadeaway jumper to put the Spurs up by two points.
Though the Spurs couldn’t get a stop to solidify Wembanyama’s efforts, the extra 10 minutes gave the Frenchman a chance to show the world just how cold-blooded he truly is. With San Antonio down by three with less than 30 seconds to go in the first overtime, Wemby launched one right near the spot of Steph Curry’s double “bang” game-winning triple in 2016 to give the Spurs new life after doing much of his damage closer to the rim.
Wembanyama again exploited OKC’s lack of size in the second overtime, getting downhill while fending off defenders for easy dunks. He capped off his career-best performance with a very nonchalant-looking, but cleanly executed block against a driving Williams.
Though it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who was named MVP for the second straight season, an argument could certainly be made that Wembanyama had more than enough of a case to become the youngest MVP in league history.
Wembanyama barely hid his frustration when asked if he felt like he was the best player in basketball and if he took the MVP snub personally.
“Do I feel like it right now? I feel tired,” Wembanyama said. “But it’s not a question I’m wondering right now. We’ll see. The world is 8 billion people, so it’s 8 billion opinions.
“It feels like I still got a lot to learn, and I want to get that trophy many times in my career.”
