Victor Wembanyama delivered one of the biggest playoff performances of his young NBA career, and Michael Wilbon believes the San Antonio Spurs star now carries the same aura a young Mike Tyson once brought into boxing rings.
Wembanyama exploded for 41 points and 24 rebounds as the Spurs stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-115 in a double-overtime Western Conference finals opener Monday night, The Guardian reports. The 22-year-old center sealed the win with two late dunks in the final minute of the second overtime, helping San Antonio steal home-court advantage and hand Oklahoma City just its second loss in 11 playoff games.
Speaking afterward, Wilbon compared Wembanyama’s growing dominance to Tyson during his early heavyweight rise.
“It looks like something otherworldly that possesses him now,” Wilbon said. “It’s one of the great games of all time, but it reminds me of things I’ve seen in my life sitting at ringside watching a young Mike Tyson. Everyone is in awe of everything he’s doing, including the opposition. They don’t want to tell you that!”
The performance added another milestone to Wembanyama’s growing résumé. At 22 years and 134 days old, he became the youngest player in NBA playoff history to post at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a postseason game.
Victor Wembanyama Takes Over in Double Overtime
San Antonio needed every bit of Wembanyama’s brilliance to outlast the Thunder in a playoff classic.
The game turned late in the first overtime when Stephon Castle fired a pass back to Wembanyama near midcourt. Standing just beyond the Oklahoma City logo, Wembanyama confidently launched a 28-footer that tied the game at 108-108 and forced a second overtime, per ESPN.
“I knew that was going in,” Castle said afterward.
Castle finished with 17 points, while rookie Dylan Harper added 24 points and a playoff franchise-record seven steals. Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each scored 13 points for San Antonio, which played without De’Aaron Fox because of ankle stiffness.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson praised Wembanyama’s impact on both ends of the floor.
“His level of physicality and execution through physicality was tremendous,” Johnson said. “His rebounding obviously showed in the box score, but what was off the charts was defensively, he was in his stance almost all night.”
Spurs Star Continues Building Momentum
Wembanyama’s performance came on the same night Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received his second consecutive NBA MVP award. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points and 12 assists but shot just 7-for-23 from the field.
When asked whether watching Gilgeous-Alexander receive the trophy motivated him, Wembanyama did not hesitate.
“Yeah, for sure,” he said.
Castle also made his opinion clear when NBC asked him after the game who the best player in the world is.
“The best player in the world,” Castle said of Wembanyama.
The French superstar smiled when reporters later mentioned Castle’s comment.
“The world is eight billion people,” Wembanyama said. “That’s eight billion opinions.”
The atmosphere inside the Spurs locker room reflected the magnitude of the win. Keldon Johnson blasted Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” through a giant Bluetooth speaker while Spurs CEO R.C. Buford walked past an exhausted Wembanyama and told him, “Unbelievable, man!”
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