Victor Wembanyama painted a masterpiece in his 51st NBA game. The San Antonio Spurs’ 7’5 rookie supernova became the youngest player in league history to post a 5×5 game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night when he finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five steals, and five blocks in 31 minutes. Wembanyama went 3-for-8 from three-point range and 10-of-11 from the free throw line on the night.
There was only one problem with Wembanyama’s historic performance: it came in another Spurs loss. The Lakers beat the Spurs, 123-118. San Antonio falls to 11-46 on the season.
Wembanyama was asked about his big night going against LeBron James and Co. after the game, and he gave a brilliant response. Wembanyama said he can’t be satisfied with his performance in a loss. Here’s the full quote from Wembanyama.
Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama on joining Michael Jordan w/ back-to-back 5-steal, 5-block games: “I wonder if he did it in wins, not losses. To me, it’s secondary. Hopefully… we can look back & think this is a good performance. As of today, I can’t be satisfied with a loss.” pic.twitter.com/ITAd0bupxr
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 24, 2024
No one has had a 5×5 game in the NBA since Jusuf Nurkic in 2019. No one has equaled the line Wembanyama put up against the Lakers since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1990. This was the 23rd 5×5 game in NBA history.
What’s even more wild than Wembanyama getting a 5×5 game in his 51st career game is the fact that he almost had consecutive 5×5 games on back-to-back nights. Wembanyama finished one assist shy of a 5×5 on Thursday night against the Spurs.
I wrote about Wemby’s first 50 NBA games on Friday. The big point: pretty soon Wembanyama’s dominance will become so commonplace that it will start to get boring. For now, he’s a 20-year-old figuring things out on the fly, and he’s already putting together amazing performances against the best players in the world.
Watch Wembanyama’s full highlights against the Lakers here.
Here’s what LeBron James said about Wemby after the game:
LeBron on Wemby: “He doesn’t have a ceiling, he can do whatever he wants in his career…you got guys in our league that you have to account for anytime you get around the rim, or around the perimeter in our league history, and he sits right at the top, if not around the top,… pic.twitter.com/cJXo89n278
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) February 24, 2024
Wembanyama is just incredible. As I wrote on Friday, the fact that this is the worst he’s going to be at any point of the next 15 years should terrify the rest of the NBA. He’s already really damn good as a rookie, and he’s only going to keep getting so much better.
