On Friday night, Victor Wembanyama created NBA history by posting a “5×5” stat line and becoming a member of an exclusive group.
In just 31 minutes, the rookie French player for the San Antonio Spurs finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, and 5 blocks in a 123-118 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Wembanyama became the youngest player to accomplish the accomplishment. He became the fifteenth player to record a “5×5” stat line, which is when a player records at least five points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks in a single game.
The NBA reports that the great rookie, who is 20 years and 50 days old, has surpassed Andrei Kirilenko’s previous record of 22 years and 288 days, which was set when the league started keeping track of thefts and blocks in 1973–74.
Wembanyama, who is regarded as the NBA’s future, took on one of the league’s greatest players, LeBron James, on Friday night.
Despite Wembanyama’s 30 points giving him the ultimate say in the game, James, like many of us, was amazed by the 39-year-old’s skills on the basketball court.
“That kid is SPECIAL!!” He posted a message with an alien emoji on X, the platform that was formerly known as Twitter.
Before Wembanyama was selected in the 2017 draft, James referred to him as a “alien” because of his unusual mix of height (7 feet 4 inches) and ball-handling prowess.
He has been hailed as a future NBA superstar due to his unique skill set, and even though the Spurs didn’t win many games this season, he had a great rookie year.
In terms of points, rebounds, steals, and blocks, he tops all rookies. In terms of blocks, he leads the NBA.
Following Friday’s game, James talked further about Wembanyama’s potential in the NBA.
According to the NBA’s official website, James informed reporters, “He doesn’t have a ceiling.” “He can do whatever he wants to do in his career. It seems like he enjoys the game. It seems like he puts the work in, just from the outside looking in.
“I said a long time ago how special he was, and it’s really that simple.”
Wembanyama’s “5×5” occurs the day after he failed to reach the 50-assist milestone against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.
In just 30 minutes and 55 seconds on Friday against the Lakers, he achieved the mark—the shortest amount of playing time required to attain a “5×5” stat line in NBA history.
Since Jusuf Nurkic finished with 24 points, 23 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 blocks, and 5 steals for the Portland Trail Blazers against the Sacramento Kings on New Year’s Day of 2019, this is the first “5×5” stat line to be achieved.
With his accomplishment, Wembanyama joined Michael Jordan as the only players to record at least five steals and five blocks in a row, an even more exclusive group.
But after the defeat his team had just experienced, the rookie was unable to enjoy the moment.
According to the NBA’s official website, Wembanyama said to reporters, “I wonder if (Jordan) did it in wins, not losses,” “To me, it’s secondary. Hopefully in the future we can look back and see this as a good performance, but as of today, I can’t be satisfied in a loss.”