OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The numbers deserve a deeper look: 41 points, 24 rebounds, three blocked shots.
Take a bow, Victor Wembanyama. That's a conference finals debut like none other in the NBA's 80-year history.
The San Antonio star did everything — and a whole lot of it — in the Spurs' 122-115 double-overtime Game 1 victory over Oklahoma City to open the Western Conference finals on Monday night. He dunked, he flexed, he screamed, he posed for teammates.
Of course, all he cared about was that the Spurs won.
“The relentlessness is built as well,” Wembanyama said. “First of all, the first thing is physical ability, getting stronger as the years go on. And the mental toughness, you have to have it all the time. Yes, it takes a toll, but we will rest in July.”
Note that phrase — “we will rest in July.” It's May. If the Spurs play in June, it'll be in the NBA Finals. That's clearly the hope and if you listen to Wembanyama, it's clearly his plan as well.
“He has a rare desire to step into every moment that’s in front of him,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “And I think he has showed in his three years, in a lot of different situations, with a lot of different circumstances, that he’s going to attack those moments. Doesn’t mean they’ll always work out for him or be exactly the outcome that he wants, but he has some rare God-given ability. He puts in even more work and preparation into maximizing that and his disposition and mentality and approach is reflected at times in the way he handles those moments.”
Poor Dylan Harper. All the Spurs guard did in Game 1 — as a rookie — was have 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and seven steals. He joined Magic Johnson as the only rookies with 15 points, five assists and five steals in a conference finals game.
That's a monster night. And Wemby overshadowed that as only a 7-foot-4 man can.
A look inside the night that was for Wembanyama:
At 22, he's the youngest to do that in NBA playoff history, seven months younger than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was when he had a 46-point, 25-rebound game in 1970.
He's the second-youngest to have such a game in the NBA, including regular season. Bob McAdoo had a 45-point, 25-rebound game as a 21-year-old in 1973.
The big games just come with more regularity now for Wembanyama. He now has 10 games of 40 or more points in his career. Of those, five were in his first 2 1/2 seasons — and the last five have come in the last three months.
The 24 rebounds topped his previous career-best of 23 rebounds, done on his 21st birthday — Jan, 4. 2025, against Denver. Since that was in the regular season, it'll still be generally considered his “career-high” and the playoff one will stand on its own.
The 12 free throws made (he was 12 for 13) matched his second-most makes from the line in any game as a pro. He had 16 in a loss to Denver last month. The 12-of-13 effort was one of his best from the line during his NBA career; he was 12-for-12 against Phoenix in March and 16-for-17 in that game against the Nuggets in April.
“He's one of a kind.” — Harper, on Wembanyama.
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