Gregg Popovich surely knows how to extract the best out of his young big men. He found the formula for making David Robinson successful but did not force that mold to fit Tim Duncan. The same goes with his new once-in-a-generation mentee Victor Wembanyama. All of these greats in the San Antonio Spurs system are one-of-one. The Alien just proved why in his clash against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Oklahoma City Thunder.
Victor Wembanyama has averaged 2+ steals, 3+ blocks, and over two three-pointers made in the month of February. Not even the Spurs legends who came before him like Tim Duncan and David Robinson managed to achieve this feat. As a matter of fact, no one in NBA history has gotten these averages in that span of time, per StatMuse.
Wemby knew he had to prove himself against the Thunder. He was going up against an MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Not to mention, the only other player who is a threat to his Rookie of the Year award, Chet Holmgren, was also on the other side of the court. This led to a massive all-around explosion in the Spurs young gun's production.
Spurs pick apart the Thunder
In the 32 minutes of action that Gregg Popovich gave him, Wemby notched 28 points. Expectedly, he also ripped 13 rebounds right out of the air when he got into a good position. The most impressive part of the Spurs rookie's game? His insane passing IQ off the post and on the perimeter. Those playmaking chops netted him seven assists to bury the Thunder.
SGA and Holmgren did put up a fight. The MVP candidate also sank 12 out of his 22 field goal attempts for 31 points. He also drew fouls to get his scoring numbers up. Meanwhile, Holmgren dropped 23 points alongside five assists and seven rebounds. Reinforcements were needed for the Spurs to come out on top.
Thankfully, Devin Vassell and Tre Jones combined for 45 points. Jeremy Sochan also put up 21 points and notched 10 boards for a double-double. In total, six Spurs players put up double-digit scoring numbers to get the 132 to 118 scoreline en route to the team's 12th win of the season.
Will they keep this streak going?
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