Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama Comes Up Big, Drops 50 In Win Over Wizards

November 14, 2024

Spurs sensation Victor Wembanyama put on a show for the ages Wednesday night, dropping a career-high 50 points in a 139-130 home win over the Wizards.

The 7-foot-4 phenom splashed in a personal-best eight 3-pointers, making it abundantly clear why he’s already being hailed as the future of the league.

“My first thought is eventually I want the rest of our performances, the rest of our games, to overshadow this one,” Wembanyama told reporters, speaking like someone who knows this is just the beginning. “I want to make it where in the future, [this is] just another one.”

But make no mistake, this performance was anything but routine. The last time a Spurs player hit the 50-point mark in regulation, David Robinson was doing it back in 1994. And for Wembanyama, at just 20 years and 314 days old, he became the fourth-youngest player to notch 50 points in NBA history, while also being the tallest ever to achieve it.

From the jump, Wembanyama was locked in. The Spurs sprinted out to a 13-3 lead in the first 67 seconds, with their franchise cornerstone either scoring or assisting on four straight possessions.

“The big fella, man, when he comes out with that mindset, it’s a hard opportunity to deal with,” teammate Julian Champagnie said. “Big praise to him, big shoutout to him. He’s working on his game. I don’t know what it was that he took personal, but he took something personal, went out there and hooped.”

Wembanyama saved his best for the third quarter, where he was nothing short of unstoppable. He shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and nailed 4-of-4 from deep, racking up 19 points in just 12 minutes. Add in four boards, an assist, and a block for good measure.

“If you looked at them, they were good, rhythm shots,” Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson said. “The gravity that he occupies, or pulls, is unique. So, when he makes shots away from the basket, it’s just going to pull that gravity, for sure.”

By night’s end, Wembanyama was 18-of-29 from the field, with six rebounds and three blocks over 32 minutes of play. He also became the first player ever to post 20 three-pointers and 13 blocks over a three-game span, an unheard-of mix of scoring and defensive dominance.

This epic performance adds to Wembanyama’s already jaw-dropping resume, which includes a 50-point game, a 5×5 game, and a 10-block game. Only three other players — Anthony Davis, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Robinson — have managed that trifecta since blocks became an official stat in 1973-74.

Still, Wembanyama kept his focus beyond the numbers.

“I love to celebrate the small wins and the big wins for a certain amount of time,” he said. “But tomorrow, we’re already locked in on the Lakers. I’m going to give myself a little bit of time to reflect. It’s definitely a big milestone. It’s kind of a private club. It’s certainly something I’m proud of.”