As good as Victor Wembanyama was during the San Antonio Spurs' Wednesday night game against the Toronto Raptors, he may have had a better moment afterward. Following the NBA's first triple-double with blocks by a rookie in nearly 35 years, the generational prospect was asked if, because he also registered five assists, a potential quadruple-double crossed his mind during the game.
“I almost got a quintuple-double with turnovers,” the San Antonio Spurs superstar quipped.
Victor Wembanyama's historic night
Though he fell short of recording the NBA's fifth ever quadruple-double — and first quintuple-double thanks to seven turnovers — Wemby did match fellow fabled Spurs big man David Robinson in another way. One of the four players in league history who's recorded a quadruple-double, the “Admiral” was the last rookie before Wembanyama to get a triple-double that included blocks.
“Not much growing up. Of course, it was before my time,” Wenbanyama answered when asked how much he knew about Robinson. “Since I'm with the Spurs, I've learned a little bit about him and watched a little bit of tape. It's great company to have my name next to him. It counts even more since it's family. It's from the Spurs, from San Antonio.”
Like the 20-year-old phenom did vs. the Raptors his last time out, Robinson blocked ten shots in recording a quadruple-double in February of 1994 when he became the most recent player in the NBA to reach double-digits in four different stat categories on the same night. Though Wemby leads the league in blocks, and maybe because he does so at 3.2 per game, he says getting his hands on shot attempts is becoming increasingly tougher.
“It is a fact. And it's getting harder to block shots as well, so I had to make that extra effort. Less and less people go at me. Intimidation, I can see it happening.”
Wemby's favorite play on a big night
Two minutes before he picked up his tenth rejection and the triple-double that came with it, Wembanyama was on the receiving end of a fantastic pass from Devin Vassell.
“I told you all from training camp, I said, he's going to do something every game where everybody just goes, ‘Did he really just to that?' For me to kind of flip the script and for him to look, like, ‘Dev, are you serious? I was, like, yeah, bro,'” Vassell said of the highlight-worthy play. “We'll mix it up every now and then, so it was a good moment.”
With just under eight and a half minutes left in a game the Spurs won by 23 points, the fourth-year NBA guard saved the ball from going out of bounds by whipping a behind-the-back pass to his 7-foot-four teammate for a dunk.
“I didn't think he saw me. I mean, that was just crazy. I haven't seen the video yet. It was off a rebound, right?” Wembanyama asked about the play. “That was just crazy. And on the spot too.”
It was the French marvel's turn to marvel at someone else. Next time, he won't be so stunned.
“I'm learning never to underestimate him again.”
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