[ad_1]
-
Andrés López, ESPN
LOS ANGELES – Victor Wembanyama answered questions at the podium, sitting in front of a San Antonio Spurs banner, and was told about the statistical feat he had just accomplished Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Wembanyama joined Jamaal Tinsley (2001) as the only NBA rookies to have a 5×5 game (scoring at least 5 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks in a game) and also became the second player to have 5 blocks and 5 steals in consecutive games, joining Michael Jordan.
Wembanyama paused to consider Jordan’s feat and then asked, “I wonder if he did it with wins?”
Jordan, who did it in his third season, actually did it with wins. Wembanyama did so in losses. Wembanyama’s Spurs lost 113-108 to the Lakers on Friday night despite the rookie’s best efforts.
Wembanyama finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks to become just the 15th player in NBA history to record a 5×5, and the first since Jusuf Nurkic in 2019.
It came just one night after he narrowly missed the feat Thursday night in Sacramento, falling one assist short. Wembanyama became the first player in NBA history to average 5×5 over a two-game span since 1973-74, when blocks were first recorded as an official statistic.
Wembanyama played 31 minutes, the fewest in a 5v5 game, and, at age 20, also became the youngest player to achieve the statistical mark. He also became the second player with a line of 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, five blocks and five steals, joining Hakeem Olajuwon, who did it four times.
But these feats won’t mean as much to Wembanyama, he said, until they become victories.
“For me, it’s secondary,” Wembanyama said. “I hope that in the future it will be a good performance, but today I cannot be satisfied with a defeat.”
The Lakers’ superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis were too much for the young Spurs to overcome. James scored 30 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds, while Davis scored 28 points and 13 rebounds.
“Of course it was a challenge (to face) one of the best duos in the league,” Wembanyama said. “But still, I think we will beat a lot of teams if we play this way.
“But I think in the end it came down to maturity because each and every one of us was making a mistake every single time. Little mistakes, missing a layup, losing the ball. We fell, we lost four again, we went down seven times several times and that’s when we made mistakes. So yeah, it’s maturity.”
After the match, James had nothing but high praise for Wembanyama.
“He doesn’t have a roof,” James said. “He can do whatever he wants with his career. He seems to enjoy the game. He seems to try hard. 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 for your question about (defensive) havoc, there are guys in our league that you have to look out for every time you go to the rim or the perimeter in the history of our league, and he is right at the top of (if not) at the top, with all the greats”.
When asked about some of the best rookies he’s seen, James mentioned players like Zion Williamson, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
“He’s one of them that had a stellar rookie season,” James said. “Guys that came in and (dominated). But can they sustain it? We’ve had guys that came in and were really fucking (good). I think the one thing Wemby has above all the guys is What I named is you see his length .
“You see how tall he is and his length. This guy next to me,” James said, pointing to Davis, “has a lot of length, and it’s even more than AD. That makes him a little different.”
Friday’s loss dropped the Spurs to 11-46 on the season. It was their tenth loss in 11 games.
But Wembanyama’s teammates know the frequent losses won’t be there forever, in part because of how important the rookie is and can be.
“I just think he’s showing how special he is,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell told ESPN. “Obviously we know what we’re building. We know what we have, and it’s just tough because I talked about it yesterday. You’re sitting here and you’re competing night after night, day after day and you’re not winning.
“Obviously it’s tough. We’re always going to stick with him. He wants to be great, and we appreciate that and it’s not just him, but I think we all want to be great.”
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.