The second year of Victor Wembanyama's NBA career may still be in its infancy, but he has already been on the receiving end of plenty of criticisms early on this season for his inconsistent play on the offensive end of the floor. But over the past two games, Wembanyama has been showcasing what makes him quite the elite two-way player, and why the league must still be pretty much on high alert regarding the San Antonio Spurs' franchise cornerstone.
On Monday night, Wembanyama had himself another incredible outing in leading the Spurs to a 116-96 win over a Sacramento Kings team that was on the second night of a back-to-back. He dominated the Kings, dropping 34 points (13-22 from the field, 6-12 from deep), 14 rebounds, six assists, and three blocks — and in so doing, he made for himself a nice bit of NBA history.
According to StatMamba on X (formerly Twitter), Wembanyama became just the first player in NBA history to tally at least 10 threes and 10 blocks over a two-game span. This shows how much of a unicorn the Spurs star is and why he will be alright despite all the criticisms regarding his game in the early goings of the 2024-25 campaign.
It did help that the Spurs faced a Kings team that had a rest deficit following a hard-fought overtime win on the road against the Phoenix Suns last night. Regardless, Wembanyama deserves all the credit in the world for being his best two-way self over the past two games.
Wembanyama outplayed an All-Star center in Domantas Sabonis, and he deserves plenty of credit for spearheading a Spurs offense that simply could not miss on the night. San Antonio made 22 triples as a team, and they appear to be hitting their stride, with Devin Vassell also returning recently to give the team another shot-creating threat on the wing.
Given how incredible Wembanyama was during his rookie season, many expected that he'll be putting up monster stat lines each and every night. The Spurs star made it easy to forget that he was only 20 years of age and that he'll be encountering plenty of growing pains. But now, Wembanyama is showing why he remains one of the most coveted franchise cornerstones in the NBA.
The Spurs are heading back to respectability, thanks in large part to Victor Wembanyama
After their win against the Kings, the Spurs are 5-6 on the season; for reference, the Spurs did not win their fifth game of the 2023-24 season until December 28, 2023. Victor Wembanyama has played a huge part in turning the Spurs' fortunes around, even though he has caught flak for spending too much time on the perimeter which has caused his efficiency numbers to fall a bit to start the campaign.
Wembanyama is a defensive monster all on his own; the Spurs rank ninth in the league at the moment in defensive rating, a huge improvement from their 21st rank last season. The offense is now coming for the 20-year-old phenom, and the Spurs may be about to take off very soon.
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