Feb 29, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates a three point shot in the second half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports
NBABy Awful Announcing Staff on

Entering the season, Victor Wembanyama was arguably the most highly anticipated NBA rookie since LeBron James. Given most American basketball fans had never seen Wemby in game action, only mythical highlights and viral clips, nobody could have really been sure what to expect this year. Would Wembanyama need time to adapt to the NBA game? Would Gregg Popovich and the Spurs take it slow with him? Now that we are in March, the answer is clear – Wemby is already one of the must-see players in the NBA.

On Thursday night, Wembanyama took over in a showdown with fellow Rookie of the Year contender Chet Holmgren and the top seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. Wemby led the Spurs to an upset victory with a remarkable clutch time performance on both ends of the floor. Not only did he hit two clutch threes, including a catch and shoot from just inside the logo, he also gobbled up a Holmgren shot on the other end, barely lifting his feet off the floor, like he was playing Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Wemby’s statline of 28 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 blocks, 2 steals, and 5 3-pointers has never been achieved before in NBA history. By the way, Holmgren put up a great statline as well (23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists), but it was Wemby’s night.

And if that wasn’t enough, he even took the mic into his own hands and cut a promo after the game in front of the San Antonio crowd, leading them in a “Go Spurs Go” chant.

Wembanyama and the Spurs haven’t had a shortage of nationally televised games this season. Before the campaign began they were scheduled for 19 appearances on national television. That’s a huge number for a team that had the top pick last year and is in the cellar of the Western Conference at 12-48 on the season. But it’s actually well deserved and then some.

Wemby has already delivered on national television with his first ever matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo in January one of the best games of the NBA season. He had a similar performance against the Lakers in Los Angeles when he became the youngest player in NBA history with a 5×5 game.

In February, the unicorn averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, and 2 steals per game while shooting 40% from 3. It’s an unheard of box score night in and night out with multiple highlights that make you wonder just how far human evolution is being stretched.

Unfortunately, fans missed out on the latest chapter in the budding Wemby-Chet rivalry with the game on League Pass and TNT showcasing Warriors-Knicks instead on Thursday night.

The Thunder look poised to be one of the NBA’s best teams for the next several years with an electric core of Holmgren, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (who may just win the MVP this year), and Jalen Williams themselves. And while the Wemby-Chet rivalry is living up to the hype in year one, it could grow further into the defining rivalry for the next NBA generation. If Wemby can get some help and the Spurs start winning consistently, it could turn into one of the best matchups in sports. Expect to see much more of both teams on national television next year and for many years to come.

For all those wondering about who the next face of the NBA might be in the post-LeBron era, the league appears to be in very good hands.