San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama backed up what it means to be a generational prospect on Wednesday night.
The Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks due to Wembanyama’s legendary 52-point, 24-rebound outing. He also had eight blocks.
On the other side, Mavericks young star Cooper Flagg has been all the hype. Even though he’s a year behind Wembanyama, he didn’t play as well, scoring just 19 points on 19 field goal attempts despite pulling in 10 boards of his own.
While both of these prospects were labeled as generational, Wembanyama proved that he’s on another level.
«America, I wish I could just make up something to sound smart,” Charles Barkley said on ESPN at halftime of Mavericks vs. Spurs. “This is just ridiculous.»
We’re truly out of adjectives to describe Wembanyama. Barkley was left speechless at halftime of San Antonio’s eighth regular season game, marveling at what this young man is capable of.
On a given night, Wembanyama is liable to go absolutely nuclear. Imagine a player going off for 52 points, 24 rebounds and eight blocks against your favorite team. That’s what Mavericks fans had to endure last night, in a closely-contested basketball game.
Wembanyama is impacting winning.
We’re seen guys stuff the stat sheet plenty, especially in the common era of NBA basketball.
Even though they play different positions, guards Russell Westbrook and James Harden made careers out of stuffing stat sheets, leading them to multiple MVP trophies between the two of them. But neither of them ever won an NBA championship.
Wembanyama is undoubtedly out for blood after missing out on an opportunity to win a championship last season, when the New York Knicks stumped the Spurs in five games. After plenty of trash talk, Wembanyama was one of the big jokes from that series.
But entering just his fourth professional season, Wembanyama looks as dangerous as ever. He’s a legitimate MVP threat. Not just for this season, but probably the next 10 as long as he stays healthy.
How crazy is what Wembanyama is doing?
The 22-year-old has already played in his first NBA Finals. It’s obvious that the defeat stirred up something inside of him. His third NBA season didn’t end the way that he expected it to, with a Larry O’Brien trophy in his hands. It feels like the NBA is worse for the wear as a result of that.
Even though the Spurs are still a very young team, it’s unthinkable to imagine a world where Wembanyama doesn’t win multiple titles in San Antonio. We’re literally witnessing the start of what could be a truly legendary career.
Postseason success and championships will ultimately be what defies Wembanyama, but Wednesday night served as a reminder of what he’s capable of.
