Carried at arm’s length by Victor Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs won this night in style. Incisive in attack, the French phenomenon above all proved impassable by multiplying the counterattacks.
On the night of Monday to Tuesday, the Toronto Raptors offense hit a wall. With 27 points, 14 rebounds and above all 10 blocks, Victor Wembanyama achieved the feat of signing an unconventional triple-double, and carrying the disastrous San Antonio Spurs this season to an 11th victory in 54 games. All in just 29 minutes of playing time.
The triple-double, which consists of achieving ten units in three statistical areas, is a symbol for a basketball player of a complete match and an elite performance. If achieving points in a match is not the most complicated thing, doing the same for rebounds or passes is already a performance. On the other hand, a feat. At only 20 years old, “Wemby” is only the fourth rookie (player in his first year in the NBA) in the history of the league to achieve a triple-double including 10 or more “blocks” – and the first since 34 years old. All eras combined, there are only around thirty players to have managed to do the same, including Clint Capela, the latest in January 2021.
20 years old and already the best blocker in the league
The most anticipated French player of all time in the NBA has plenty to hold on to in this regard, with David Robinson also chosen in first place in the draft by the Spurs in 1989, and a specialist in counterattacks in his time. The one nicknamed “the Admiral” was even in 1990 the last rookie author of the famous triple-double including blocks, before totaling nine at the end of his career. “Robinson?” I didn’t see him play as a child, it’s older. But with Spurs I learned regarding him, watched videos. It’s an honor to have my name associated with his,” commented the young Frenchman.
And the performance is all the more unexpected as Wemby seemed out of breath in recent weeks, despite limited playing time. The main person concerned also looked surprised at the post-match press conference: “For some reason I was having a great day, I started strong. It’s the NBA I guess, we have ups and downs, tonight was a high.” Victor Wembanyama at the same time confirms his status as the best blocker in the league (3.2 per match, 143 in total), and takes a further lead over the competition in the race for rookie of the year.
