A first for San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama ended as he came in second place elsewhere. But as is typical with Wemby, whatever he does most recently is what makes the headline because he seemingly impresses with every passing night.
On the night that the 7-foot-4 phenom's string of five straight 20+ point games, his longest such streak of his young NBA career, ended, he recorded a triple-double in the second least amount of minutes.
In a 130-108 Spurs victory at the Detroit Pistons, it took Victor Wembanyama only 21 minutes to record his first-ever triple-double by scoring 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. Only Russell Westbrook recorded a triple-double quicker in game time. He put up 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists in just 20 minutes in 2014.
A statement for Wembanyama
Making history, as he's done several times early on in his career, did matter to the No. 1 pick in last year's draft. Something else mattered more.
“Doing it in a win is everything. I didn't know it (the triple-double) was the second fastest in NBA history, but, yeah, it matters to me,” Wemby shared. “I'm not the type to talk for nothing, so this is the kind of statement we want to make as a team, and this is the kind of statement I want to make as a player.”
The last portion of that quote echoes what the 20-year-old rookie said last week when, after he played very well in a close loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, ClutchPoints asked if he'd drawn motivation from not winning Western Conference Rookie of the Month and ranking eighth in initial All-Star frontcourt voting.
“I'm dedicated. At the end of the day, I’m going to get what I deserve. Every game is a statement from now on,” he said on January 4.
There not only appears to be a theme forming regarding Wemby's post-game press conference, but last week's words are also proving prophetic.
Wemby's brilliance comes in rare Spurs victory
The French phenom's streak of consecutive 20+ point games wasn't the only string of five to end Wednesday night. The Silver and Black's skid is now history as well.
“We've been trying different stuff all season long, and we happened to get it all together and made the right choice. It might be somebody else tomorrow and against someone else the next day. It's beautiful when we play like that as a team and get it all together,” Wembanyama said.
In knocking off the Pistons, the 6-30 Spurs beat one of only two teams that has a worse record than they do in the NBA. While the Washington Wizards are 6-31, Detroit is 3-35 and has now last six straight on the heels of a 28-game losing streak.
Though Wemby's 16 points didn't rank as a team-high, they were right there; tied with Devin Vassell for second, a point behind Keldon Johnson. It was an all-around performance that came within the flow of the game.
“Especially in my tendencies, there was no point in trying to go up against physical defenders who are looking at me, so my teammates made the right cuts and made the right shots, so this is how it showed,” the Spurs star concluded.
Wembanyama and the Spurs next face another team that has yet to crack double-digit wins. They host the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.
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