In the best game of his young NBA career so far, Victor Wembanyama dropped 38 points, to go along with 10 rebounds and two blocks, powering the San Antonio Spurs to a 132-121 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
This was the second matchup between the Spurs and the Suns in Arizona this week, with the two sides clashing on Tuesday at the Footprint Center. The Spurs came away with the victory that night too, rallying from 20 points down to win on a last-second shot, although the formula of Thursday’s game was completely different.
The Spurs were quick out of the blocks, outscoring the Suns by 19 in the first quarter alone. They had a 27-point lead at one stage during the first half and went into the break up 75-55.
Put all of that in your head, then consider that Wembanyama dropped 38 points on 15-of-26 shooting against the Suns, on the road, in a 132-121 win to improve the Spurs' record to 3-2. Their only losses were to the Dallas Mavericks in their opener and to the Los Angeles Clippers.
This isn't normal. Even by the standards of some of the most-hyped rookies in NBA history, this isn't normal.
In just his fifth NBA game, Wembanyama produced a handful of highlight plays, including flying down the lane for a dunk in the second quarter. The 7-foot-4 Frenchman shot 15 of 26 from the field and had 10 rebounds.
"He’s a multi-faceted player — he’ll pass to the open guy," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He’s got confidence in himself. He made some plays that were unbelievable. That combination is pretty good."
But it was his poise down the stretch that might have been most impressive. The 19-year-old forward hit a 3-pointer, made three free throws, dunked and hit an 18-foot jumper during the decisive run.
"Every game, we try to find the sweet spot where we need to hurt them," Wembanyama said. "Today it might be this way, tomorrow it might be someone else. It’s how great teams work."
Davis played collegiately at North Carolina for coach Dean Smith, and the school issued a statement that said the former Tar Heel died of natural causes.
The Suns, meanwhile, held a moment of silence in honor of Davis before tipoff.
A six-time NBA All-Star and the No. 5 overall pick of the Suns in 1977, Davis earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors in his first season after averaging 24.2 points per game. Davis played 11 of his 16 seasons in Phoenix, which in 2004 retired his No. 6 jersey.
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