San Antonio Spurs superstar center Victor Wembanyama had a confident reply when asked about his historic performance during a 125-92 blowout win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Wembanyama said, “We needed to make a statement in our locker room. I felt like I needed to make a statement to my teammates. It’s also just the beginning because there’s so much more I want to add to my game.”
Wemby led all scorers in the game with 40 points on 15-of-21 shooting to go along with 15 rebounds and three blocks. Per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Wembanyama was the first player since at least the 1977-78 season to finish a game with 40 or more points, 15 or more rebounds, no turnovers and a shooting percentage of 70 percent or better.
The 21-year-old big man took the NBA by storm during the 2023-24 season, winning NBA Rookie of the Year honors and finishing second in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Last season, he earned his first All-Star selection and was well on his way to winning DPOY when he was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign due to a blood clot in his shoulder.
On Wednesday night, Wembanyama reflected on coming back from a potentially dangerous situation, telling reporters:
“[I was] much more in control of myself. The mind, I’m not worried about [that] because I saw what it’s like to be confronted with potentially losing a lot, whether it’s your career or your health. So I’m not taking this for granted anymore. The body? I’m having more fun now that I’m not struggling to move as much. I know I still need to get better, and I’m still going to get better.”
The Mavs had no answers for the 7’4″ superstar, as starting bigs Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II were minus-24 and minus-23 on the night, respectively.
Wemby’s dominance also spoiled the debut of Cooper Flagg, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft out of Duke.
Flagg had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but he shot just 4-of-13 from the field and committed three turnovers, while posting a team-worst mark of minus-29.
With Flagg joining an established core of veterans including Davis, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, there was some thought that the Mavs would be a team to be reckoned with this season.
That could still be the case at some point, especially since Irving is going to return eventually from a torn ACL suffered back in March.
However, on Wednesday, the Spurs looked like the team poised to take the next step and contend for one of the top playoff seeds in the stacked Western Conference.
Provided Wembanyama maintains his level of play and stays healthy, the Spurs figure to be a problem for nearly every team they cross paths with.
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