The Washington Wizards had no answer and could not stop Victor Wembanyama on Wednesday night.
The San Antonio Spurs star and Olympic silver medalist put up a career-high 50 points in their 139-130 win over the Wizards at the Frost Bank Center. It was by far the best game of Wembanyama’s two-year career,
obliterating his previous career-high of 40. He also had it going from the perimeter, burying eight 3-pointers in the W, and shot an efficient 18 of 29 from the field. He also is the first player in Spurs history to make at least six 3-pointers in three consecutive games.
“My first thought is eventually I want the rest of our performances, the rest of our games, to overshadow this one,” Wembanyama said. “I want to make it where in the future, [this is] just another one.”
This game followed another great performance, a 34-point effort on Monday against the Sacramento Kings.
The former No. 1 overall draft pick in 2023, is now the first Spurs player to have a 50-point game since LaMarcus Aldridge in 2019. He is also the fourth-youngest player in league history to drop 50 points in a game, behind only Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, LeBron James as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers and former Milwaukee Buck Brandon Jennings.
“The big fella, man, when he comes out with that mindset, it’s a hard opportunity to deal with,” Spurs forward Julian Champagnie said. “Big praise to him, big shoutout to him. He’s working on his game. I don’t know what it was that he took personal, but he took something personal, went out there and hooped.”
The two teams were evenly matched in the first half, and they went into the locker room knotted at 67.
Wembanyama and the Spurs took control, did not look back and completely blew the game open in the third quarter. They nearly doubled the Wizards scoring output and ended the period on a massive 23-7 heater. The Wizards went ice cold, making just two field goals in the final six minutes of the quarter. Wembanyama had 17 points in the period alone, including three triples.
Embed from Getty Images“If you looked at them, they were good, rhythm shots,” Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson said. “The gravity that he occupies, or pulls, is unique. So, when he makes shots away from the basket, it’s just going to pull that gravity, for sure.”
Wembanyama did not waste any time getting to the prestigious 50-point plateau in the fourth quarter. After a layup and three quick free throws, Wembanyama knocked down an easy 18-footer from the wing over Corey Kispert to officially hit 50 for the first time in his career. That put the Spurs up comfortably by 17 at the time.
He checked out of the game moments later when it looked like the Spurs were going to cruise to the win. But after the Wizards sliced it to 10 points with just under five minutes to go, Wembanyama reentered to close out the nine-point win.
Jordan Poole was spectacular in his own right with a team-high 42 points for the Wizards. He shot 6 of 9 from 3-point range. Kispert added 19 points off the bench, and Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double with16 points and 13 rebounds. The Wizards, who have dropped six straight, now sit at a lowly 2-8 on the season.
Devin Vassell added 17 points off the bench to go with Wembanyama’s 50-piece for the Spurs. Champagnie finished with 12 points, and Harrison Barnes had 10 points and seven boards.
After wrapping up a quick workout in the weight room, Wembanyama walked over for treatment, admitting he planned to “reflect” during the session on his latest accomplishment. Wembanyama also admitted to glancing up at the scoreboard at times as he got closer 50 points.
“I love to celebrate the small wins and the big wins for a certain amount of time,” he said. “But tomorrow, we’re already locked in on the Lakers. I’m going to give myself a little bit of time to reflect. It’s definitely a big milestone. It’s kind of a private club. It’s certainly something I’m proud of.”
The Spurs are still without coach Gregg Popovich, and are being led by interim coach Johnson. The team announced Wednesday that Popovich suffered a mild stroke earlier this month, and he is “expected to make a full recovery.” There is still no timeline for his return.
San Antonio will next take the court on Friday, when it hosts LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Cup.
