Well, now that all basketball fans in France have been able to enjoy their “Wemby” sweets with their coffee this Thursday morning, it is time to know where to place this 50-point hot shot in the history of the NBA, no ? It is already interesting to rely on Victor Wembanyama's reaction himself after this success against Washington (139-130), marked by his phenomenal 8/16 three-pointers.
“It’s really a big step,” the center of the France team said at a press conference. It's a very exclusive club. I'm not sure how many players are part of it, but it's definitely something I'm proud of. » Let us therefore try to decipher in four questions to what extent this masterclass of skill in just 32 minutes of play will go down in the NBA history books.
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- Is this 50-point players club so “closed”?
While the basketball world was hallucinating in front of Victor Wembanyama's personal record, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 59 pawns on Wednesday evening in a certain anonymity, the one that always accompanies a victory in the regular season against the Pistons (127-120). The crazy stat that “Wemby” was demanding did not take long to appear on social networks: no less than… 166 players have already hit the symbolic 50-point bar at least one day in the history of the NBA.
Among them, obviously not all of them are as striking as the “Greek Freak” from Milwaukee. We challenge you in particular to give us the CVs of Tony Delk, Corey Brewer, Brandon Jennings and Terrence Ross (years 2000 and 2010), or even Saddiq Bey and Malachi Flynn, more recent examples clearly showing to what extent this era of offensive orgies at all costs can also transform no names as a hero.
- At what age did NBA superstars reach 50 points?
What is most impressive about Victor Wembanyama is that he achieved such an individual recital on Wednesday at just 20 years and 314 days old. It's simple, only one NBA gigastar was earlier than him, namely LeBron James at 20 years and 80 days, as well as a franchise player recognized, Devin Booker (Phoenix) at 20 years and 145 days. Michael Jordan had waited until he was 23, Larry Bird 26 or Shaquille O'Neal 22, knowing that all three had completed a university career taking them to the NBA at 20 or 21, and not 19 like “Wemby » or even 18 like LeBron James.
Arriving as “King James” from high school at 18, Kobe Bryant did not experience his first 50 “until” 22 years old. What is quite terrifying is to note that the late Lakers legend had crossed the 50 point mark a total of 25 times in his career, almost like James Harden (23 times) and Michael Jordan (31 times). As for “Mr 100 points” Wilt Chamberlain, he achieved this now ordinary feat… 118 times! A different era therefore, when we see that even in the current NBA with permissive defenses, the absolute MVP Nikola Jokic has only scored more than 50 points twice in his career.
- Has he already achieved the highest performance by a Frenchman in the NBA?
No, but a little nonetheless. Because if Tony Parker's 55 points, during a Minnesota-Spurs (125-129) in November 2008, held up this time, it is appropriate to make a clarification. “TP” had in fact scored “only” 42 points in regulation time that evening and he had taken advantage of the double overtime to boost his biggest offensive performance ever (22/36 on shots and 10 more assists).
We therefore find ourselves with 55 points in 50 minutes vs. 50 points in 32 minutes for “Wemby” on Wednesday. We'll let you make your choice to compare our two Frenchies from San Antonio. Knowing that the ambitious interior of the Spurs intends to quickly close the question of the French record.
- Has a giant ever successfully drawn so much from afar?
Of course not, the big premiere of the night is here, and the Americans are enjoying it by dropping as many stats on the subject as “Wemby” draws bombs from the Frost Bank Center parking lot. The former Boulogne-Levallois midfielder has officially become the tallest player to score eight winning shots in the same match.
Our file on Wembanyama
Likewise, we discovered the identity of the last three shooters to have chained three consecutive games with at least six three-point baskets. There we find Stephen Curry (what a surprise), Trae Young and Klay Thompson, three backs and outright triggers under 2 meters. Now added to the list is a sprawling 2.24 m pivot. Definitely Alien.
