The legend of Victor Wembanyama continues as the 7-foot-5 generational talent had a blockbuster game on Wednesday night that had the NBA world buzzing and boosting Wemby back to where he was before the New York Knicks shut him down in last year’s NBA finals.
But has the Frenchman mastered his game yet?
Wemby dropped 52 points, pulled 24 rebounds and had eight blocked shots while making 16 of 28 shots from the field. It was a dominant performance over a defensively weak Dallas Mavericks team with Daniel Gafford as their starting 5.
The Spurs advanced to 6-2 in a tough Western Conference. Analysts have been hyping Wemby since his rookie season, and the “Nightcap” crew and its fans added to the excitement and myth after the game. NBA Hoops posted a segment of their reaction to Wemby’s game on X.
“He’s the face of the NBA!” one netizen exclaimed.
“He is not human,” another fan wrote in the comments,
“Why would Dallas not double him,” a third fan asked
Dylan Harper Said Victor Wembanyama Is Wilt Chamberlain
Wemby became the first player since Bob McAdoo in 1974 to post 50+ points, 20+ rebounds, and 5+ blocks in a game.
He also became the first player with at least 50 points and 20 rebounds in a one-point win since Wilt Chamberlain in 1964 and just the third player in NBA history with such a line, also joining Elgin Baylor. He is the fifth player in history with multiple 50-point games at age 22 or younger.
Wemby’s teammate Dylan Harper compared the center to the greatest offensive machine in league history.
“He’s basically Wilt,” Harper said. “The other team tries to do everything [to stop Wembanyama]. They throw out any adjustment, every adjustment. It’s hard to keep big fella out of the paint. He’s so dominant when he screens and rolls. He knows how to get to his spots. He’s great at the free throw line. So, for us, it’s just how do we get him the ball and how do we get the low man away from him?”
Joe Johnson Says Wemby Should Lay Off The Threes
While gawking over Wemby’s stats, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and Joe Johnson pointed out several weaknesses in the center’s huge game in which he only played 34 minutes.
“Imagine if he had played 40 minutes, Joe,” Shannon Sharpe marveled.
“Imagine if he didn’t go 1-for-8 from three,” Ocho added, before Joe Johnson offered some light criticism for the young Spurs team as a whole.
“They are the type of team that gets a big lead and keeps playing the same way instead of working to get a better shot…or even a great shot,” Johnson said.
Sharpe then chimed in, “Wemby will come down on the break two seconds into the short clock and shoot one from 27 feet.”
Johnson says young players have a tendency to do that. When everybody else is having a ball shooting threes, Johnson explains that from his experience that others want in on the action. Then the offense gets out of rhythm.
“it’s pretty typical of young teams,” the sweet-shooting guard said.
“That man missed seven threes bro,” Johnson added to support his statement.
“I like his mindset. He wants to put the work in to be great,” Sharpe added, dismissing the criticism.
Wembanyama has been anointed as one of the greatest to ever do it already. While we continue to praise him, we must also be honest with his game and the truth is most teams would prefer Wemby continue to miss seven threes in a game, rather than park up in the paint where he is unstoppable.
There’s still too much of him trying to show he’s also a shooter. The fact is he doesn’t need him to be an elite three-point shooter. He’s more effective playing to his strengths, which is his height. So these spectacular games are definitely needed to carry the 82-game regular season and keep people invested in Wemby’s rise. But he learned in last season’s NBA finals that he still has more maturing to do and he has to harness his ego to be the most efficient player he can be come playoff time. Those threes weren’t dropping in the Finals, and not much has changed this season, as he’s shooting just 24 percent from the arc.
