In the second preseason game of what NBA fans are hoping will be a long and exciting career, San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama started living up to the hype and showed that he might really be the league’s next legitimate unicorn.
Wembanyama already shined in his first preseason game, in which he went toe-to-toe with Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder, but one-upped that outing with his performance on Friday night.
In 23 minutes of action at home in a win over the Miami Heat, Wembanyama had 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting – including a 3-pointer – four rebounds, four assists and three blocks. The 7-foot-4 sensation from France did a little bit of everything and absolutely wowed fans with his skills and feats of athleticism. NBA fans online totally loved it too.
Spurs coach Greg Popovich said after the win:
“I called one play for him all night… He just did that because he’s a good basketball player and understands how to play. So, we have to make sure we blend that with everything else we have.”
Indeed, it would foolish for the Spurs to not play around this marvel of a basketball player.
Here’s a bit of what Wembanyama pulled off Friday night that made sports fans divert their attention to San Antonio.
Insane images
Wembanyama appears to defy gravity at times when he’s captured in still images like this one.
This is NOT photoshopped 😳
(via Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/CKVKs9Zlgg
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) October 14, 2023
And here’s a sampling of his shot-blocking skills in live action.
WEMBY'S FOURTH BLOCK OF THE NIGHT 🤯
23 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 4 BLK#NBAPreseason | Live on TNT pic.twitter.com/3sYMaACFxq
— NBA (@NBA) October 14, 2023
Who can blame him?
There seemed to be nothing Thomas Bryant could do here to stop Wemby. His reaction feels incredibly relatable.
Thomas Bryant’s reaction to Victor Wembanyama dunking on him😂 pic.twitter.com/oZWv4ITF3f
— Tatum🍀 (@CookHimTatum) October 14, 2023
Heat players generally tried to get out of the way when Wembanyama was aiming to dunk on fast breaks.
WEMBY OFF THE SOCHAN STEAL 🔨#NBAPreseason | Live on TNT pic.twitter.com/pjy1qOyfyC
— NBA (@NBA) October 14, 2023
How do you stop this?
It feels like we’ve never seen a 7-footer with handles quite like this.
Wemby sidestep. Too tough.
He's got 17 PTS in San Antonio 🔥#NBAPreseason | Live on TNT pic.twitter.com/6dUNK5HaNW
— NBA (@NBA) October 14, 2023
And just to remind folks again, Wemby is capable of crossing up guards and then executing a wild give-and-go alley-oop.
WEMBY LOB OFF THE GIVE-AND-GO 🤯#NBAPreseason | Live on TNT pic.twitter.com/ak52KT9jNs
— NBA (@NBA) October 14, 2023
Pregame drip
We should’ve known that Wembanyama was going to give us an incredible performance when he showed up wearing a Marine Johannès jersey. While the Liberty are down 0-2 in the WNBA Finals, she – also of France – has impressed by sinking some wildly difficult shots.
Wemby pulled up reppin' @nyliberty's Marine Johannès 🗽 pic.twitter.com/tGcNA7iqaR
— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) October 14, 2023
