They call Victor Wembanyama an alien for a reason, and Monday night he showed everyone why he is the most unique player in NBA history. In a matchup against the Washington Wizards, Wembanyama finished with a career-high 50 points and eight 3-pointers, another career high for the young Frenchman. Wemby, as cool as ever, tried to downplay the feat.
“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 so that in the future it’s just another one.”
His 50-point explosion came in a win as the Spurs beat the Wizards 139-130. Wembanyama did the majority of his damage in the third quarter, scoring 19 points, pulling down four rebounds, dishing out one assist and blocking a shot while shooting a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from long range.
At 20 years, 314 days old, Wemby became the fourth-youngest player to reach 50 points. He is also the tallest to accomplish this, standing 7-foot-4. Only Devin Booker, LeBron James and Brandon Jennings have scored 50 points in a game at a younger age.
It was a historic night for Wembanyama. He became the first Spurs player to score 50 points in a game since LaMarcus Aldridge in 2019. Wembanyama also became the first player in league history to make 20 3-pointers and block 13 shots in a three-game span. He has now recorded a 50-point game, 5×5 game and 10-block game in his career. Since blocks became a recognized statistic in 1973-74, only three other players — Anthony Davis, Hakeem Olajuwon and Robinson — can claim those achievements. And none were as young as Wembanyama when they recorded those games. Lastly, he recorded the fastest 50-point game in NBA history, taking just 26 minutes.
Wembanyama and the Spurs face the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday to open the Emirates NBA Cup.
