Victor Wembanyama’s NBA debut was, relative to the hype, a little bit of a dud. He still finished 6 for 9 for 15 points and went on a little flurry in the fourth quarter, but he was in foul trouble most of the second half and never really got into an extended rhythm.
Game 2 was the breakout.
In a win over the Rockets on Friday, Wembanyama finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. The only thing he didn’t do was make a 3-pointer (0 for 6), but we know the shooting skillset is there. Everything else was on full display.
Wemby ran the floor, handled the ball, slammed lobs, scored out of the post, defended the rim, saved what looked to be an impossible loose ball from going out of bounds, pulled off a nasty spin move for a baseline dunk from the opposite side of the restricted area, and finished a tough, face-up bucket through contact to tie the game with 20 seconds to play.
Victor Wembanyama puts on a SHOW and secures his first career NBA win in an OT thriller!
— NBA (@NBA) October 28, 2023
If for some reason you didn’t make it though that full reel, here’s the spin and dunk from the other side of the restricted area:
Are you kidding me Victor Wembanyama?? 😳 pic.twitter.com/64d8NjSoGj
— NBA (@NBA) October 28, 2023
And the game-tying bucket:
Victor Wembanyama goes baseline and finishes STRONG to tie it pic.twitter.com/TIMPh1H3ZR
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) October 28, 2023
And his back-to-back blocked shots:
In his second game, Victor Wembanyama had 21 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals in a win over the Rockets. Check out this play where he had back-to-back blocks: pic.twitter.com/SuUWefw1Ut
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) October 28, 2023
Need I remind you, this man is 7-foot-4 doing all this stuff. In addition, Devin Vassell looks awesome for San Antonio. Keldon Johnson had 20 on Friday. Jeremy Sochan at point guard is a little strange, but interesting. Zach Collins looks good at center. The Spurs have immediately become one of the most entertaining teams to watch in the league, and it all starts with Wembanyama, who gave us all the goods in his second NBA game.