Victor Wembanyama entered the NBA as the most-hyped prospect since LeBron James.
The French phenom, standing at 7 feet, 4 inches, was selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2023 NBA Draft and was billed as the next great big man to play for the organization.
Victor Wembanyama, #1 of the San Antonio Spurs, walks off the court following the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center on Nov. 2, 2023 in Phoenix. The Spurs defeated the Suns 132-121. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Spurs selected David Robinson first overall in 1987 before taking Tim Duncan in 1997, with both players going on to have Hall of Fame careers as San Antonio became the envy of the NBA.
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The same result, fair or not, is expected for Wembanyama.
He is off to a nice start just five games into his NBA career.
Wembanyama had 38 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks Thursday night in a 132-121 win over Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns.
The 19-year-old rookie shot 15 of 26 from the field and scored 10 of San Antonio’s final 16 points as the Spurs beat the Suns for the second straight game.
Victor Wembanyama, #1 of the San Antonio Spurs, handles the ball against Kevin Durant, #35 of the Phoenix Suns, during the second half of the NBA game at Footprint Center on Nov. 2, 2023 in Phoenix. The Spurs defeated the Suns 132-121. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
“He’s a multi-faceted player — he’ll pass to the open guy,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said of Wembanyama. “He’s got confidence in himself. He made some plays that were unbelievable. That combination is pretty good.”
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The 38 points by Wembanyama ties him for the third-most points as a San Antonio rookie, behind Hall of Famer David Robinson, who scored 41 and 39 points in his rookie season, according to ESPN.
“Just trying to figure out what he is because we have never seen him before,” Suns star Devin Booker said, per ESPN. “We got him early in the season, and hopefully next time that we play him we can make some adjustments to make it tougher on him. But he has an advantage being 7-4 and being able to shoot over everybody. Just finding different ways to make it tough on him.”
San Antonio jumped out to a 27-point lead in the first half before the Suns clawed back to tie the game 116-116 late in the fourth quarter.
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Victor Wembanyama, #1 of the San Antonio Spurs, defends Devin Booker, #1 of the Phoenix Suns, during the game on Nov. 2, 2023 at Footprint Center in Phoenix. (Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images)
Wembanyama responded with 10 of San Antonio’s next 12 points as the Spurs moved to 3-2 on the year.
“I’d say it’s that a 20-point lead is nothing,” Wembanyama said. “It works both ways. It’s also something we’ve seen in FIBA when we play team U.S. or scout U.S. You could be up 15 and in a blink you’ll be down one and you don’t know what happened because they ran the fastbreak like crazy and got some defensive stops.
“So yeah, in the NBA it’s the same.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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