Victor Wembanyama scored 52 points, grabbed 24 rebounds and blocked eight shots in San Antonio’s 112-111 win over the Dallas Mavericks, a stat line no NBA player had put up since Bob McAdoo in 1974. Wembanyama is 22. Both his points and his rebounds were career highs, and it was the Spurs’ sixth straight win.
The Black game has always measured its giants against Wilt Chamberlain, and The Guardian’s headline reached for him again: “He’s basically Wilt.” The numbers are why. Fifty-two years passed between McAdoo’s night and this one, and the 7-foot-4 Frenchman is the one who ended the wait.
He did it fast. Wembanyama had 29 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in the first half alone, in 16 minutes 37 seconds. He became the first player in 30 seasons to post at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a half. He made 16 of 28 shots, seven of them dunks, and missed seven of his eight three-point tries. The rest came from the free-throw line, where he was perfect on 15 attempts.
San Antonio led by 19 early in the third quarter and Dallas came back. The lead changed hands several times down the stretch. Wembanyama made the free throw that put the Spurs ahead with 24.2 seconds left, and Kyrie Irving’s contested jumper at the buzzer fell short. Irving had 29 for Dallas, and Naji Marshall added 22 off the bench.
Wembanyama played through a virus and rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter, and stayed in. Teammate Dylan Harper, who had 21 points, credited the work he puts in on “his mobility, treatment, all that.” The Spurs outscored Dallas by 23 points with Wembanyama on the floor, and they have now completed a perfect three-game homestand after early losses to Oklahoma City and Houston.
Before this game, the last player to score 50, take 20 rebounds and block five shots was McAdoo, in 1974.
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