Category: Wemby

Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama joins Shaq in history after 40-20 outburst

Wembanyama produced another historic performance, and joined Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal in some rare company in a win over the Knicks.

Victor Wembanyama produced another historic performance and joined Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal in rare company while leading the San Antonio Spurs to a win over the New York Knicks.

Wembanyama recorded a career-high 40 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block on Friday in a 130-126 overtime victory. He went 13-of-22 from the field, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range, in 37 minutes of work at Frost Bank Center.

The top pick became the first rookie to register a 40-20 game since O’Neal had 46 points and 21 rebounds with the Orlando Magic on Feb. 16, 1993. He is the second-youngest player to record such a stat line (20 years, 85 days).

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was impressed with the effort.

It just shows what he is going to be when he understands all of the physicality that is coming to him all of the time and what to do about it. Fortunately, he is also a hell of an instinctive passer and is willing to do what he needs to do in that regard. He is pretty special.

The Spurs appeared to be cruising toward an easy win after leading by 21 points in the first half. The Knicks responded by outscoring the Spurs 64-47 in the second half to force their first overtime game of the season. Wembanyama had five points in the extra time to lead the Spurs.

The epic display by Wembanyama was one of the top performances across the league on Friday, but the 7-footer was upstaged by Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, who had a career-high 61 points. It was the sixth-highest output in the NBA this season.

Wembanyama was happy to see his team hold on down the stretch.

I’m proud of us for controlling the game. Of course, they came back in the third quarter, but it is expected from a team like this. We knew how to control the game, so that was good. (It was) a heartfelt battle. I feel good because they’re a very good team, especially defensively. It just shows our progression.

Wembanyama is averaging 21 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 3.4 blocks and 1.2 steals on 46.8% shooting from the field in 65 games. He leads the NBA in blocks and also tops the rookie class in points, rebounds and steals this season.

He is the front-runner to win Rookie of the Year after achieving numerous accomplishments, including becoming the youngest player in history to register a 5×5 game and recording a triple-double with blocks. He has also won Rookie of the Month twice.

Wembanyama is pleased when he can have games like those.

“It isn’t the goal, but it still shows progress,” Wembanyama said. “The more of those accolades I can get, the more I will get. Of course, it’s also one of my convictions to be always unique and different and do things never seen before.”

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Kyrie Irving believes Victor Wembanyama can win Defensive Player of the Year: ‘He is for sure a candidate’

Victor Wembanyama is making a late push for Defensive Player of the Year and recently earned an endorsement from Kyrie Irving.

Victor Wembanyama is making a late push to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, and the top pick recently earned an endorsement from Kyrie Irving.

Wembanyama is averaging 20.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.5 blocks and 1.3 steals on 46.4% shooting from the field in 61 games with the San Antonio Spurs. He is the only rookie to register a triple-double (2) this season and leads all first-year players in 30-point games (6).

The 7-footer leads the league in blocks and is third in defensive box plus-minus (plus-3.0), 10th in defensive win shares (3.5) and 12th in rebounds. He also leads all players in games with at least five blocks (20); the next highest player has nine (Brook Lopez).

Irving believes he should absolutely be in contention for the award.

He does do things like a Defensive Player of the Year would. He is showing signs that he has exceeded all of the Defensive Player of the Year stats previous to guys that have won it. You guys see it. I don’t know who they’re going to pick, but he has all the tools to be named Defensive Player of the Year. He is for sure a candidate.

I don’t know how he wouldn’t be unless the (number of) games played and minutes but every Defensive Player of the Year that has won in the past few years, he’s almost head and shoulders (above them), and we still have what, 15 or some odd games left? I give him credit for being such a young player but learning on the fly and doing everything he can to get his team wins.

According to the BetMGM Sportsbook, Wembanyama is second in odds (plus-350) to win Defensive Player of the Year, trailing only Minnesota center Rudy Gobert (minus-500). Gobert is a three-time winner and last took home the honors in 2021.

The two Frenchmen share a close connection because of their roots. Wembanyama looks to Gobert as a mentor, and the veteran often helps him by offering advice and other bits of information. Gobert has also commended him for his approach and work ethic in the past.

The late push by Wembanyama for the award will likely fall short, but the 20-year-old is looking forward to competing against Gobert for it in the future. He knows his time is coming.

“I know that Rudy has a very good chance of winning it this year, and it would be deserved,” Webanyama said on March 14, via Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “Let him win it now because after that, it’s no longer his turn.”

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Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama: ‘I don’t see my progression stopping any time soon’

Victor Wembanyama is putting up historic numbers this season with the Spurs and once again had another impressive outing on Sunday.

Victor Wembanyama is putting up historic numbers this season with the San Antonio Spurs, and the No. 1 pick had another impressive outing on Sunday.

Wembanyama produced a game-high 33 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and seven blocked shots in a 122-115 overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets in Austin. He went 14-of-26 from the field, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range, in 36 minutes.

The 20-year-old became the first player in history to record at least 30 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and five blocks on 50% shooting from the field. He is the youngest player to reach those numbers in a game, surpassing Shaquille O’Neal (21 years, 321 days).

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is impressed with his performance.

He is a multitalented young man and is going to show us things that none of us have never seen before. He is getting more and more solid, more and more disciplined, and more and more used to the contact that he gets and the attention that he gets. It is a tough position for him to be in but he handles it with class and pretty good smarts.

Wembanyama is averaging 20.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.5 blocks and 1.3 steals on 46.7% shooting from the field in 60 games. He leads the NBA in blocks and also tops the rookie class in points, rebounds and steals this season.

The 7-footer is also the only rookie to register a triple-double (2) this season and leads all first-year players in 30-point games (6); the next closest players are Chet Holmgren and Keyonte George, who each have three such performances.

Wembanyama believes his best is yet to come.

“It is a day-by-day thing, but what is for sure is I’m not even close from being at my best,” Wembanyama said. “I don’t see my progression stopping any time soon, so it is good for my confidence. There is a lot to correct and adjust.”

Wembanyama is the front-runner to win Rookie of the Year after achieving numerous accomplishments, including becoming the youngest player in history to register a 5×5 game and recording a triple-double with blocks. He has also won Rookie of the Month twice.

He has surpassed expectations this season and has turned in an impressive rookie campaign. He appears to be the future of the NBA and wants to continue building on his successful year.

“Looking back on the season, I can see our progression, but also my progression,” Wembanyama said. “Even though it feels like it is little by little every game, when you do it every day after a whole season, it adds up to something big.”

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Damian Lillard names the biggest surprise about Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama has dazzled throughout his rookie campaign and recently earned high praise from Damian Lillard.

Victor Wembanyama has dazzled throughout his rookie campaign with the San Antonio Spurs, and the top pick has earned high praise from the top players in the NBA.

Damian Lillard was the latest to chime in.

Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks faced Wembanyama twice this season, winning both. Though Wembanyama missed the first meeting, Lillard had the opportunity to see the 7-footer up close in the second game on Jan. 4 and walked away impressed.

The eight-time All-Star spoke Friday on the “Dan Patrick Show” about Wembanyama and gave a detailed scouting report on what he has seen from the 20-year-old this season.

I think he is special. The first thing you think is height. I could see that he was clearly a good basketball player, but there was just so much hype around him that you were like, ‘Man, he is so tall and long. The game is so fast, how is he going to do in the NBA?’ Then you see he has a little twitch with him. Even though he is tall and lanky, he moves quick. He is fluid and is doing things you just haven’t seen somebody at that size do before.

I think we’ve always been extremely impressed with Kevin Durant doing it at 6-foot-11, now you have a dude who is 7-foot-5 doing the same thing. It is just getting crazy. I think Wemby is special. I think how competitive he is is what surprised me the most and that’s what makes me think that very soon I can see him being the best player in the league.

Wembanyama is averaging 20.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.4 blocks and 1.3 steals on 46.7% shooting from the field in 58 games. He leads the league in blocks and is also first in points, rebounds and steals among the rookie class.

The Frenchman is the front-runner to win Rookie of the Year after achieving numerous accomplishments, including becoming the youngest player in history to register a 5×5 game and recording a triple-double with blocks. He has also won Rookie of the Month twice.

Wembanyama surpassed expectations this season and has turned in an impressive rookie campaign. With 16 games left to play, Wembanyama has established himself as the franchise cornerstone and looks to be in store for a long career.

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Spurs rule out rookie Victor Wembanyama for 2nd straight game with injury

Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama will not play Saturday on the road against the Warriors due to a sprained right ankle.

San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama will not play Saturday on the road against the Golden State Warriors due to a sprained right ankle, the team announced.

Wembanyama returned to San Antonio on Tuesday to seek further medical evaluation on the ankle and isn’t with the team. He is expected to be available to play on Monday when the Spurs host the Warriors to begin an eight-game homestand, which includes two games in Austin.

The top pick has missed seven games this season, including six due to issues with that ankle. The team previously put him on a minute restriction that prevented him from playing in back-to-back games. He had played 21 straight games before sitting on Thursday.

Wembanyama is the front-runner to win Rookie of the Year after averaging 20.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 3.4 blocks and 1.3 steals in 56 games. He leads the rookie class in points, rebounds and blocks and is the only first-year player with four 30-point games.

The 7-footer has put up some rare stat lines, from recording a triple-double with blocks to recording the second-fastest triple-double in history. He recently became the youngest player to record a 5×5 game, with at least five points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.

The organization has been cautious with Wembanyama regarding his workload and injuries and will continue to do so over the remainder of the season.

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Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama returned to San Antonio to seek medical evaluation

Victor Wembanyama has missed six games this season, including five due to a sprained right ankle.

Victor Wembanyama will not play on Thursday as the San Antonio Spurs continue a three-game road trip in Sacramento due to a sprained right ankle, the team announced.

Wembanyama returned to San Antonio after facing Houston on Tuesday, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. The organization took advantage of the proximity of Houston to San Antonio and opted to send him home to be further examined by team doctors.

The No. 1 pick has missed six games this season, including five due to issues with that ankle. The team previously put him on a minute restriction that prevented him from playing in back-to-back games. He has played 21 straight games since last sitting on Jan. 19.

Wembanyama is the front-runner to win Rookie of the Year after averaging 20.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 3.4 blocks and 1.3 steals in 56 games. He leads the rookie class in points, rebounds and blocks and is the only first-year player with four 30-point games.

The 7-footer has put up some rare stat lines, from recording a triple-double with blocks to recording the second-fastest triple-double in history. He recently became the youngest player to record a 5×5 game, with at least five points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.

The organization has been cautious with Wembanyama this year regarding his workload and injuries and will continue to do so over the last 20 games of the season. The team plays next on Saturday against Golden State, so it is possible Wembanyama could sit in that contest.

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NBA Rookie of the Month: Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller win for February

Victor Wembanyama and Brandon Miller for the second straight time were named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Rookies of the Month.

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama and Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller for the second straight time have been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference rookies of the month for February, respectively.

Wembanyama became the first Spurs rookie to win in consecutive months since Tim Duncan in March and April 1998. Wembanyama averaged 21.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.9 blocks and two steals in 12 games. He led all rookies in scoring, rebounding, blocks and steals in the month.

Miller averaged 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 13 games. He became the sixth player in franchise history to win the award multiple times, and he was the first rookie this season to have back-to-back 30-point games in the month.

Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren and Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson were also nominated for the award in the West. Toronto Raptors guard Gradey Dick, Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson were nominated in the East.

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Rookie Wire Power Rankings: Victor Wembanyama remains No. 1 post-All-Star break

Rookie Wire took a look at the top first-year players over the last two weeks of the 2023-24 season.

The NBA enters the last two months of the regular-season schedule with teams positioning themselves for the playoffs entering .

The rookie class continues to impress nightly with players contributing at a high level on playoff contenders and other teams in the hunt. The group has been one of the most memorable in recent memory, headlined by Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren.

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They have established themselves as the top rookies and are the front-runners for Rookie of the Year as a result. The two 7-footers have dazzled seemingly every time they step onto the court and have had some strong performances.

To make sense of it all, we looked at the best recent performances of these first-year players and ranked them in the Rookie Wire Power Rankings. The rankings are not for Rookie of the Year purposes but to illustrate the best players week to week.

LeBron James on Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama: ‘He doesn’t have a ceiling’

Victor Wembanyama faced off against LeBron James for a second time on Friday and earned high praise from the future Hall of Famer.

Victor Wembanyama faced off against LeBron James for a second time on Friday and earned high praise from the future Hall of Famer after a dazzling performance.

Wembanyama produced 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and five blocked shots to lead the San Antonio Spurs in the 123-118 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He went 7-of-16 from the field, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range, in 31 minutes.

The top pick became the youngest player in history to record a 5×5 game, with at least five points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks (20 years, 50 days). He is the 15th player to reach that stat line and the first since Jusuf Nurkic in January 2019.

James was impressed with the performance.

He doesn’t have a ceiling. He can do whatever he wants to do with his career. It seems like he enjoys the game. It seems like he puts in the work. Just from the outside looking in, I’m not with him on a day-to-day basis, but I said a long time ago how special he was, and it’s literally that simple.

Wembanyama has put up some rare stat lines throughout the year, from recording a triple-double with blocks to recording the second-fastest triple-double in history. His performance on Friday will go down as yet another impressive feat.

The 7-footer is averaging 20.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.3 blocks and 1.3 steals on 46.6% shooting from the field in 51 games. He leads the rookie class in points, rebounds and blocks and is the only first-year player with four 30-point games.

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Wembanyama is the current front-runner to win Rookie of the Year, topping Chet Holmgren and Brandon Miller. He leads the league in blocks and is seventh in defensive box plus-minus (plus-2.5) and 11th in defensive win shares (2.8).

James believes he is already a problem for opposing teams.

“You got guys in our league that you have to account for any time you get around the rim or around the perimeter in our league history,” James said, “and he sits right at the top of it, around the top, with all the greats.”

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Jamal Crawford on Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama: ‘He is better than the hype’

Victor Wembanyama entered the NBA with plenty of hype and NBA legend Jamal Crawford believes he has already exceeded that.

Victor Wembanyama entered the NBA with plenty of hype for his rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs, and the No. 1 pick has lived up to that throughout the year.

Jamal Crawford even believes he has exceeded the hype.

The former 20-year veteran recalled on the “Draymond Green Show” that he was thoroughly impressed him after he called his game against the Hawks on TNT on Jan. 15. He told the Warriors star that he could tell Wembanyama wanted to be great after that meeting.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich benched him and three other starters to begin the second half of that game. Wembanyama responded to a scoreless first half with 26 points and nine rebounds over the final two quarters in the loss, which stood out to Crawford.

He is better than the hype, not because of the (expletive) you can see, it is the (expletive) you can’t see. This is what really got me: After the game, I’m walking out and he is in the weight room. He sees me and drops the weights. He comes down, shakes my hand and doesn’t even say nothing. He just puts his head down; he wants some wisdom or knowledge. I saw he is going to be great. … He is actually better than the hype. It is scary.

Wembanyama is averaging 20.5 points, 10 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.2 blocks and 1.1 steals on 46.8% shooting from the field in 49 games. He leads the rookie class in points, rebounds and blocks and is the only first-year player with four 30-point games.

The 7-footer is the front-runner to win Rookie of the Year, topping Chet Holmgren and Brandon Miller. He leads the league in blocks and is 10th in defensive box plus-minus (plus-2.3) and 15th in defensive win shares (2.6).

Wembanyama is emerging as a force on both ends of the floor for the Spurs and has only scratched the surface of his potential. He has proven himself as a generational talent in a small sample size and should only become more dominant with time.

Count Crawford as a fan of Wembanyama at this stage of his career.

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