What are the odds? Or maybe this is the way it's supposed to be. 39 years ago to the date that Michael Jordan dazzled in his Madison Square Garden debut, Victor Wembanyama plays his first-ever game at the “Mecca of Basketball.”

But, fair or not, it's another one of the game's greatest players with whom Wemby is instinctively linked– a generational big man taken first overall in the NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs.

“He's not LeBron, or Tim, or Kobe, or anybody else, he's Victor. And that's who we want him to be,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich declared on draft night, invoking the names of several legends when asked about how he'd manage expectations this season.

MSG debuts and the greats

But speaking of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. While there is no comparing their careers with Wembanyama until the 19-year-old phenom establishes one, ‘Garden' debuts beg for context.

James scored 22 in a Cleveland Cavaliers victory to match that February date in 2004.

Though Bryant would set a then Madison Square Garden single-game scoring record with 61 in 2009, guess where his first ever NBA point came? Amid a stretch in which he barely saw the court to start his rookie season, the late Lakers legend hit a free throw while playing in just three-plus minutes of that November game in 1996.

The aforementioned Jordan went for 33 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals while shooting 68% nearly four decades ago tonight.

“Of course, it does. I heard from so many people that this is the best basketball gym in the world. I'm eager to find out,” Wembanyaa replied when asked following the Spurs shoot-around at Madison Square Garden if playing at the hallowed arena means anything to him.

New York, New York for Duncan and Wemby

Spurs, Victor Wembanyama, Tim Duncan, Suns, Spurs rookie

Then there's Duncan.

A month before he had taken the MSG court for his first NBA All-Star game. The following summer in Manhattan, he hoisted the first of what would prove five Larry O'Brien trophies and three NBA Finals awards.

On March 31, 1998, the eventual greatest power forward to ever play enjoyed a fabulous MSG debut of his own. 25 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal in a 95-78 Spurs victory for the unanimous NBA Rookie of the Year.

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Duncan's performance, which included 10 of 16 from the field and makes on all five three throw attempts. were enough to eclipse Alan Houston's game-high 31 points in a contest that didn't include Knicks Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing or Spurs veteran point guard Avery Johnson.

Wembanyama set for Garden debut

With 13 points on 3-for-12 shooting in a 41-point blowout loss at the Indiana Pacers, Victor Wembanyama heads into New York off maybe the worst performance of a young career that could reach the likes of Duncan, James, Bryant, and, dare we say, even Jordan.

Truth be told, though, the use of the word ‘generational' right now to describe Wemby is generous and presumptuous.

A good performance in Madison Square Garden won't ensure a path to Springfield, Massachusetts and the Basketball Hall of Fame. That's for the next five, ten years will decide.

This is just one moment, albeit one everyone seems to note. Not even the Spurs, and their fabled big men, past and present, can escape it.