Wemby Just Became the First Player in NBA History to Do This

On February 12, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Toronto Raptors 122-99. While it was a dominating win for the Spurs as a whole, what will be remembered from the game was the historic performance of Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama finished the game with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 blocks, recording his second career triple-double. While that stat line alone is incredible, what makes it even more amazing is that the rookie sensation achieved those numbers in just 29 minutes.

It was the first time in NBA history that a player has scored 25 or more points while having 10 or more blocks in less than 30 minutes played.

With the performance, Wembanyama became the seventh player in NBA history to finish a game with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists. He joins Dwight Howard, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Ralph Sampson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Artis Gilmore.

Wembanyama also shot 71.4% from the field in the win, his highest field goal percentage of the season. On the year, he is averaging 20.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game.

Wemby by the Numbers

While that game was historic, Wembanyama’s entire season is trending toward being historic.

There are only six players in NBA history who have averaged at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks in a full season. The list, which is comprised entirely of Hall of Famers, includes names like Olajuwon, Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O’Neal. If Wembanyama can maintain those numbers down the stretch, he will be the only rookie on the list.

This season, he is leading all rookies in points per game, rebounds per game, and blocks per game, and is the favorite to win Rookie of the Year honors.

Wembanyama is also the only player this year to record at least 10 blocks in a game, and the only rookie to ever accomplish the feat other than David Robinson. Following the game, Wembanyama spoke to the media about what that meant to him, saying “It’s great company to have my name next to him.”

Twitter/X Reacts

Many people took to social media to praise Wembanyama after the game.

ESPN analyst and former NBA champion, Kendrick Perkins, praised the rookie sensation in a tweet after the game, writing that he (Wembanyama) “will be the best player on both ends of the floor for years to come.”

Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer focused on his defense, saying that Wembanyama was on his Defensive Player of the Year short list.

Skip Bayless of Fox Sports acknowledged his stats while remembering to remind everyone how badly the Spurs have played as a team.

The Spurs have struggled for the majority of the year. They currently sit at 11-41, last place in the western conference. However, insider Marc Stein reported on February 12 that Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks is a potential trade target for the Spurs this summer.

In the report, Stein wrote ““The decision to keep Murray, however, certainly has more than a few front offices out there believing that the Hawks could reach the point—provided this season doesn’t end well—that they entertain the most dramatic possible reset.” before mentioning that the Spurs are to thought to “lead the field in terms of interest at this early stage.”

So while this has been a season to forget in many ways for Spurs fans, help could be on the way for the rookie phenom soon.

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