Victor Wembanyama arrives in his fifth NBA game, and the league will never be the same

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Victor Wembanyama’s first NBA statement game was mind-blowing in every way

Victor Wembanyama’s name was already being mentioned among legends when he entered the NBA Draft. Was Wembaymama, fresh off an MVP season in the top pro league in France at 19 years old, the greatest prospect in league history? To even ponder the question was to bring up LeBron, Kareem, Shaq, Wilt, Magic, etc.; the titans who grew the game off the backs of their miraculous talent.

Wembanyama was special, anyone with a pulse could see that. Players standing 7’5 are supposed to be athletic stiffs — Wemby was fast and agile and flexible in a way humanity had never seen before for someone his size. He could dominate at the rim on both ends of the floor on length alone, but he had greater ambitions for his skill set. He grew up watching Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant change the geometry of the floor; to him, there was nothing unusual about a big man shooting threes, running off screens, or handling the ball. Wembanyama would do it too even if it looked a little awkward at first.

Wembanyama had already enjoyed some incredible moments throughout the preseason, and in his first four NBA games. He had not, however, played a game that made it truly felt like he had arrived. He was saving it for his fifth game, for an NBA TV matchup late on a Thursday night.

The Spurs beat the Suns, 132-121, behind Wembanyama’s breakthrough performance. The rookie finished with 38 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks on 15-of-26 shooting. Those numbers do not capture the pure spectacle of what he did on the floor, but the tape does:

It’s all there, the total package: unstoppable finishes at the rim, pull-up threes, transition run-outs, give-and-go slams, jumpers out of the post. When the game was really on the line, and the Devin Booker and Kevin Durant had chipped away at San Antonio’s big first half lead, is when Wemby really came alive.

Wembanyama scored 10 points in the final four minutes to nice the Spurs’ second consecutive win over Phoenix. He shook a defender and ripped a three-pointer to give San Antonio an insurmountable lead. Then he dropped another soft jumper through the net from around the free throw line just to the nail in the coffin.

Wembanyama grew up idolizing Durant, and on this night he outplayed him in his fifth NBA game. KD was asked about Victor after the game and did not take any credit for influencing the young Frenchman — Durant said Wembanyama’s game is his own, and there’s never been one like it before. He’s right about that.

This type of performance is not normal for a rookie so early in their career. Then again, no one ever said Wembanyama was normal.

It already feels like Wembanyama will have a chance to become one of the greatest NBA players ever. That doesn’t mean he’s necessarily going to get there. He’ll have to stay healthy, above all. He’ll have to hope the Spurs put good players and good coaches around him for the long haul. He’ll have to avoid the pitfalls of stardom so many have fallen into.

Wemby’s arrival in the NBA, more than anything else, amounts to a gift for fans. Here’s this all-time great talent, someone we’ve seen before, who appears to approach the game in all the right ways. He will spend the next 15 years trying to climb the mountaintop, and he has all the ability to do it. Will he get there? Who knows. When the names in comparison are LeBron, Shaq, and Kareem, it certainly seems unlikely anyone could measure up. So much has to go right for so many years. Just know it’s going to be so much fun to watch him try.

If his fifth game is any indication, the rocket ship Wembanyama is riding appears to be going places the game has never been before. What a gift it will be to watch his journey.