The Spurs star put on a historical performance against the undermanned Lakers and had to be benched to cool off
Victor Wembanyama was so dominant Tuesday night that the San Antonio Spurs had to physically remove him from the game to stop him from scoring more. The 7-foot-4 phenomenon dropped 40 points in just 26 minutes against the depleted Lakers, finishing 13-of-20 from the field, 4-of-6 from three-point range, and 10-of-12 from the free throw line. He also grabbed 12 rebounds, joining Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing as the only players in NBA history to record a 40-point double-double in that few minutes. This wasn’t just a great performance it was the fifth instance in the entire shot clock era (since 1954-55) that any player has scored 40+ points in 26 or fewer minutes. That’s how rare what Wembanyama did actually is.
The scariest part for the rest of the NBA is that Wembanyama wanted to keep playing
He finished 37 points by halftime, when the Spurs were already up by 29 points. In the third quarter, he scored once and then got substituted out. By the fourth quarter, he was on the bench joking about wanting to check back in. “I was also pushing to go back, but I mean, they did the right thing by keeping me on the bench,” Wembanyama said. That’s the kind of statement that should terrify opposing teams. This guy was so locked in that he genuinely didn’t want to sit down.
What made the performance even more impressive is how Wembanyama dominated from start to finish
He scored 25 points on 8-of-9 shooting just in the first quarter the third highest-scoring quarter in Spurs franchise history, trailing only Hall of Famers George Gervin (33 points) and David Robinson (28). He was attacking the basket, shooting threes without hesitation, and basically proving that when the Spurs get focused, they’re untouchable. Lakers coach JJ Redick acknowledged it: “He was very aggressive, as aggressive to start a game as I’ve seen him. Both in attacking the basket and in shooting without hesitation from 3.”
The Lakers were helpless to stop him
They were missing center Deandre Ayton (knee soreness) as a late scratch. Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves were all ruled out earlier in the day. Marcus Smart didn’t play either. The Spurs didn’t just beat a depleted Lakers team they destroyed them 136-108 while Wembanyama was essentially playing on creative mode.
What’s interesting is how Wembanyama explained his aggression
“What got me going was just honestly proving myself a point, proving my team a point,” he said. He acknowledged that history has shown the Spurs have had occasional problems playing down to competition this season. “I’m not worried about us, not worried about me against good teams, but history has showed that I need to be worried about us against teams like this. So yeah, I mean, we don’t just talk about what we need to do. We need to actually act.”
The “greed” comment is what separates elite players from good ones
Wembanyama talked about needing to have greed, the desire to keep wanting more even when you’re already dominant. “Every game you have to have this greed to want more every time,” he said. That’s the mentality that turns great performances into legendary ones. Even when you’re up 29 at halftime, you want more. Even when you’ve scored 40 in 26 minutes, you’re calculating what you could have if you kept playing.
The funny part? Wembanyama jokingly pretended to jog to the scorer’s table during the fourth quarter, clearly frustrated about sitting out. He’s confident he could have easily exceeded his career high of 50 points if he’d played normal minutes.
But Wembanyama also gets the bigger picture. The Spurs had a back-to-back against Golden State Wednesday night, flying to San Francisco late Tuesday. “We got to make another statement tomorrow. So it’s a team game at the end of the day. The real stat that matters is the W or the L,” he said.
That’s championship mentality mixed with historical dominance.
