Historic NBA show for Wemby
Victor Wembanyama posted an epic NBA triple-double with 27 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocked shots to power San Antonio to a 122-99 victory at Toronto.
The 20-year-old, seven-footfour-inch (2.24-metre) French rookie star, the top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, had the most blocks in a game by any NBA player in more than three years in his second career NBA triple-double.
“We felt great today, had a great rhythm,” Wembanyama said. “Started the game strong. I don’t know. I guess it’s just the NBA. We’ve got ups and downs in terms of shape. Today was an up day.”
Wembanyama became only the fifth player in NBA history with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks and five assists in an NBA game, joining legendary big men Hakeem Olajuwon, Ralph Sampson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and former Spurs star David Robinson.
“It’s great company to have a name in this group and even more because it’s in the Spurs family,” he said.
Wembanyama became only the fourth NBA rookie with a triple-double that included blocks, joining Robinson, Mark Eaton and Ralph Sampson.
It was the first NBA tripledouble to include blocked shots since Clint Capela did it in January 2021.
San Antonio snapped a seven-game losing streak behind “Wemby,” the first NBA player since Olajuwon in 1996 with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks and five assists in a game.
“He did a little bit of everything,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He is an allaround talented player.”
In other game, Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points to lead the Timberwolves over hosts the Los Angeles Clippers 121-100 in a showdown for the Western Conference lead.
The T-Wolves (37-16) also had 23 points from Anthony Edwards to rout the Clippers (3517).