Despite the once-in-a-generation tag that was placed on his name before he ever stepped on an NBA court, nobody expected that Victor Wembanyama would come in and turn the San Antonio Spurs into a contender overnight. The perception, at least from my vantage point, was that San Antonio would be frisky enough this year to potentially push for a berth into the play-in tournament. But through only 21 games, this idea already appears to be far-fetched.

After their loss to the Chicago Bulls, the Spurs are in the midst of 16-game losing streak, which is practically unheard of in the Gregg Popovich era in San Antonio, and totally unexpected for Victor Wembanyama's rookie season. However, you can't look at the situation and say that Wemby is in any way at fault. Not only has Wembanyama been as good as advertised on a game-to-game basis — he's averaging 19 points, 10 rebounds, and nearly 4 combined blocks and steals per game — but he's already had a few “Wait, Wemby did what?” games. One of those games came last night against the Bulls, when Wembanyama became the youngest player in NBA history to post a 20 point, 20 rebound game. But if you ask Wemby, the individual numbers and achievements don't have much value.

It took Victor Wembanyama only 20 games to reach a milestone that took David Robinson 44 games and Tim Duncan 68 games to reach. That, in and of itself, is a major accomplishment for Wemby, who is following in the very large footsteps of a pair of San Antonio legends that are among the greatest big men in NBA history. Spurs fans would be downright giddy if Wemby could turn in a career that resembles either David Robinson or Tim Duncan, and early returns suggest that's a good possibility.