Spurs' Victor Wembanyama just made basketball history the NBA has never seen before originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It was virtually impossible for fans not to be on the edge of their seats on Monday night, as the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs delivered an instant classic in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
Although the Spurs led for most of the night, the Thunder made a late push to force overtime. After scoring seven points each after the first extra period, the Spurs finally outlasted the defending champs in overtime No. 2, securing an exhilarating 122-115 victory to begin the series with a 1-0 lead.
Unsurprisingly, Victor Wembanyama was his usual unicorn self in the contest, dominating the glass, taking advantage of mismatches in the low post, using his long strides to slither his way into the Thunder’s second line of defense, and recording timely blocks in the Spurs’ pivotal seven-point road victory (he finished the contest with 41 points, 24 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks while shooting 56% from the field and 50% from three).
Shortly after the blockbuster matchup, the X/Twitter account ‘Real App’ revealed that Wembanyama made impressive NBA history.
“Wemby is the first player in NBA history to record a 40/20 game in their Conference Finals debut,” the statistics-based account wrote.
It’s unlikely the list of players who have achieved that feat will expand anytime soon, given the fact that Wembanyama’s skill set and physical tools are unlike anything the NBA has ever seen.
Obviously, the former No. 1 overall pick’s stat line won’t have a video-game-like feel to it every night, but consistent high-level play should give the Spurs a good chance of knocking off the Thunder to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.
It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the alluring series plays out.
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