Victor Wembanyama was still relatively unknown in the NBA, having joined the San Antonio Spurs in 2023 from the French LNB Elite, a top-level basketball league. But this 20-year-old player, who just won a silver medal for France at the Paris Olympics, is quickly becoming a star on his own merits, and last weekend he broke a new NBA record.
During the San Antonio Spurs' 114-94 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, he made history by becoming the 6th player in NBA history to record 30+ points and 10+ blocks in a game, joining. Only six players in history have done it before, including Hakeem Olajuwon, who did it five times.
But that's hardly the only record he broke last weekend. He also managed to be the first NBA player to hit at least one block in 62 straight games.
And, while not unheard of, another impressive achievement: He hit over 200 three-pointers… faster than Stephen Curry, James Harden and Ray Allen, who are the top 3 long-range shooters in NBA history.
He is averaging 3.1 3-pointers per game this season, another sign of the 3-pointer's dominance in basketball, something that has many detractors, including Shaquille O'Neal, who has implied that this trend is “ruining” the NBA and its television ratings.
Whether you agree or not, there's no denying that Victor Wembanyama is the type of player who can define a generation… with a little help from genetics, as he's currently the tallest NBA player, at 7 feet 3 inches ( 2.21 m). No wonder his nickname is “Alien”.
