Spurs center Victor Wembanyama joins elite company through 82 career NBA games
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama had another monstrous outing that put him in the record books among some impressive company.
Wembanyama had 34 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and three blocks as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Sacramento Kings 116-96 on Monday night.
It was Wembanyama’s 82nd career game, giving the 7-foot-3 No. 1 pick in 2023 from France a full season of games played.
And with his outstanding performance, Wembanyama joined Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Blake Griffin and Sidney Wicks as the only players in league history with 1,700 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists in their first 82 games.
Veteran point guard Chris Paul believes the league has not yet seen the best from Wembanyama.
“I wish you guys could see the work that goes in day and day out,” Spurs veteran point guard Chris Paul said. “You know how talented he is, but his will to want to get better. His will to want to work on things. The more games we play, I think we all will get more and more familiar with each other.”
Wembanyama was named Rookie of the Year and was second to fellow countryman Rudy Gobert for Defensive Player of the Year last season. He averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and led the league at 3.6 blocks in 71 games.
Aside from averaging 4.0 blocks, his numbers are slightly down this season, but he is feeling better after a long summer spent helping France win Silver in the Paris Olympics.
Wembanyama had 24 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks in a 111-110 loss to Utah on Saturday. He set a career-high for 3-pointers by shooting 6 for 9 against the Jazz.
It was Wembanyama’s third career game with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and five 3-pointers. It’s the most in league history, surpassing two such games by Boston center Kristaps Porzingis.
Wembanyama was 6 for 12 on 3-pointers against the Kings to match his career-high.
After a sluggish start that saw his 3-point shooting dip to 25%, Wembanyama is 14 for 27 on 3-pointers in his last three games.
“I’m just taking better 3s,” Wembanyama said. “ Yeah, of course it’s feeling better. I’m 20, I’m hoping for some years it’s going to keep feeling better and better. There is no reason for it to feel worse.”
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