Wembanyama Impresses: 40 Points and Dominance in NBA Debut

In a demonstration of absolute power, Victor Wembanyama dazzled in his return to action with the Spurs, making it clear that the transformative summer he experienced has catapulted him to another level. After finishing the game alongside Julian Champagnie, the Frenchman summarized his performance with a simple phrase: “That was niiiice”. Minutes earlier, Wembanyama had left everyone speechless with a reverse slam dunk of fantasy, after a feint that lifted P.J. Washington into the air. The result was a resounding victory for the Spurs over the Dallas Mavericks, with a score of 125-92. In this encounter, Wembanyama demonstrated the physical and mental evolution he experienced during the summer.

[I was] much more in control of myself. The mind, I don’t worry about [that] because I saw what it’s like to face the possibility of losing a lot, whether it’s your career or your health. So I don’t take this for granted anymore. The body? I have more fun now that it doesn’t cost me so much to move. I know I still need to improve, and I’m still going to improve.

Victor Wembanyama

Wednesday’s game was a display of skills that evidenced the evolution of Wembanyama, who had not played an NBA game in eight months and eleven days. Despite the inactivity, the French player dominated the court, becoming the first player since the 1977-78 season to record 40 points with 15 rebounds, 3 blocks and zero turnovers, with 70% field goal efficiency. Wembanyama’s 40 points are the most for a player in a season-opening game in San Antonio Spurs history.

He’s been out for eight months. So you saw him take the moment and play spectacularly. But honestly, the most impressive line [is] zero turnovers. The amount of fundamentally solid plays he made tonight was impressive.

Mitch Johnson, Spurs Coach

Wembanyama’s dominance began in the first quarter, where he scored 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting, plus a block. His game included a spectacular dunk over rookie Cooper Flagg, and an assist for Dylan Harper, demonstrating his ability to involve his teammates.

The guy is 7-3. I think some of the officiating was a little questionable. But when he’s 7-3 and standing in front of you, nobody’s going to block a shot. He’s shooting over the top. At that point, you just pray he misses.

Anthony Davis

The connection between Wembanyama and his teammates was evident in several plays, such as the alley-oop to Stephon Castle, showing the chemistry developed during the summer. Castle and Wembanyama scored or assisted on 42 of the Spurs’ 60 points in the first half, giving them a nine-point lead at halftime.

[It’s] a lot of repetitions, a lot of watching movies together. I feel like that helps and is overlooked a lot. Being able to watch movies with a guy you’re going to do a lot of pick-and-rolls with and have a lot of transition points definitely helped. Being able to know where he likes the ball with a double team, where they’re going to come from. Man, we’ve been working on that all summer, and it’s starting to take shape.

Stephon Castle

Wembanyama starred in a highlight play in the third quarter, blocking a shot by Dereck Lively and finishing the play with a step-back three-pointer, completing a four-point play.

It’s incredible. He’s a different player. You can’t know what he’s like until you’re on the court with him. It’s something I’ve never seen before. He was great tonight, but we have to do a better job trying to take away some of his shots, and we can’t foul him as much as we did.

Cooper Flagg

After connecting a 13-foot fadeaway that extended the Spurs’ lead to 30 points, Wembanyama was substituted. At that moment, the player reflected on his summer of transformation and the long road traveled since being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in February.

It feels like we try to put a brick in place every day to build a huge mansion, and I felt like the work was done for today. This is what we’ve been working for. This is what we’ve fought for for so long, and I felt like it fit. I felt like I was in my place. We needed to make a statement in our locker room. The feeling was really that there was nothing more we could have done to help ourselves today. We felt like we did everything we needed to do. We felt ready and we felt that we wouldn’t regret the things we should have worked on or the things we should have done in the summer. I felt comfortable with the work we did and with the preparation up to this moment. Now all the dice are rolled in the Western Conference.

Victor Wembanyama