French prodigy Victor Wembanyama scored his first card in his 5th NBA game by scoring 38 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a second straight victory against Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Incandescent at the end of the match to contain the Suns’ comeback, Wembanyama achieved a rare performance for such an inexperienced player, and allowed his team to count 3 victories in 5 matches since the start of the season. Aged 19, Wembanyama was drafted first overall by the Spurs in June, and generates immense expectations due to his unique polymorphic talent for his size (2.24 m).
An exceptional performance
Just eight days after his NBA debut, “Wemby” took off on Thursday with an exceptional performance for a rookie, finishing as the game’s top scorer and multiplying classy actions. Until then, he had scored between 11 and 21 points per game.
The Spurs, who had already snatched a narrow victory against Phoenix on Tuesday (115-114), did it again on Thursday in a controlled match (20 points ahead at half-time). Wembanyama twice beat NBA superstar Kevin Durant, one of his idols.
Last in the Western Conference last season (22 wins, 60 losses), San Antonio had an unexpected start to the season, with the youngest squad in the NBA. The Spurs host Toronto on Sunday for their next meeting.