Victor Wembanyama entered the Raptors court to the applause of the Toronto team’s fans and left to applause. In the middle was an exhibition by the French “rookie” of the San Antonio Spurs who achieved a triple double and catapulted his team to the final 99-122.
Wembanyama finished the night with 27 points, the game’s top scorer, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks after 29 minutes of play. And at times, it looked like the French center could achieve a quadruple double as in the first half of the game he also tallied five assists.
With his performance on Monday night, Wembanyama joins a select list of players who have scored at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 10 blocks in a game: Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Ralph Sampson and David Robinson .
No other “rookie” had achieved a triple double with 10 blocks since he did it in 1990, and three times, precisely Robinson. Since 1983, only two other rookies have done it: Mark Eaton and Ralph Samson.
And Wembanyama, at 20 years and 39 days, is the second youngest player in NBA history to have 10 blocks in a game, after Josh Smith (19 years and 13 days).
Spurs guard Devin Vassell moved closer to Wembanyama in points by scoring 25 points thanks to a great third quarter in which he scored 12 points.
Meanwhile, for the Raptors, the top scorer was Gradey Dick, with 18 points. Toronto’s main player, Scottie Barnes, ended the night frustrated with only seven points and left the court alone 20 seconds before the final whistle.
The Canadian public was eager to see Frenchman Victor Wembanyama for the first time in Toronto. And the Frenchman, who was received at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena with a standing ovation as if he were a local player, did not disappoint.
Aside from the exhibition of the French prodigy, the Milwaukee Bucks suffocated the Denver Nuggets with their defense (112-95), the Minnesota Timberwolves devastated the Los Angeles Clippers at home (100-121) and both the Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors chained their fifth straight win.
