Victor Wembanyama entered the NBA with an unprecedented amount of excitement. Through the first 51 games of his NBA career, he has managed to exceed expectations.
Wembanyama pulled off a rare statistical feat on Friday. The French phenom finished the game against the Los Angeles Lakers with a jaw-dropping stat line to achieve the coveted 5×5 game.
Wembanyama record at least five points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals and five blocks in a game to become just the second rookie in league history to record a 5×5 game. Jamaal Tinsley accomplished the feat in his rookie year more than two decades ago. However, Wembanyama, who turned 20 in January, is the youngest player in NBA history to record a 5×5 game.
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San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
He is also now the 15th player in league history to post the impressive stat line. The San Antonio Spurs star ended the night with 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and five blocks.
SPURS’ VICTOR WEMBANYAMA RECORDS RARE TRIPLE-DOUBLE IN WIN OVER RAPTORS
Wembanyama needed merely 31 minutes to reach the requirements for the 5×5 game. The Spurs dropped Friday night’s game in Los Angeles, despite Wembanyama’s outstanding performance. San Antonio has now loss three straight games and sits in last place in the Western Conference.
Feb 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California: San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) gets the rebound against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
While Wembanyama certainly seems to appreciate the accolades he has received in the early portion of his NBA career, but he remains focused on trying to win games.
“To me, it’s secondary,” Wembanyama said. “Hopefully in the future, and think this is a good performance, but as of today, I can’t be satisfied with a loss.”
Wembanyama also acknowledged the challenge of competing against an all-time great player in LeBron James and his star teammate Anthony Davis.
“Of course it was challenging [going against] one of the best duos in the league,” Wembanyama said. “But still, I think it’s a lot of teams we beat if we play this way.
“But I think it came down to maturity at the end because each and every one of us was making a mistake each of the times. Little mistakes, missing a layup, turning the ball over. We went down, we went back to down four, down seven multiple times, and that’s when we did mistakes. So yeah, it’s maturity.”
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James, a four-time NBA champion, spoke highly of Wembanyama calling the rookie “special.”
“He doesn’t have a ceiling,” James said. “He can do whatever he wants to do with his career. It seems like he enjoys the game. It seems like he puts in the work. Just from the outside looking in, I’m not with him on a day-to-day basis, but I said a long time ago how special he was, and it’s literally that simple.
“As far as your question as far as havoc [defensively], there are guys in our league that you have to account for any time you get around the rim or around the perimeter in our league history, and he sits right at the top of it, [if not] around the top, with all the greats.”
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