On Saturday, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama played his 100th career NBA game. In those 100 games, the 7’3″ player from France has had one of the best starts to a career in the history of the league. Through his career of nearly a season and a half, Wembanyama is averaging 22.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.7 blocks per night.
In terms of overall and three-point scoring, rebounds, and blocks, Wembanyama is on a historic run to start his career. With 2,278 points on 225 made three-pointers, 1,053 rebounds, and 366 blocks, he has come into the league directly impacting both sides of the floor at a pace never seen before.
His point total is more than LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony. His rebounding total is more than Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, and Patrick Ewing. His blocks total more than Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Dikembe Mutombo. Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, his made three-pointers are more than Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Trae Young.
When he was drafted to San Antonio with the first overall pick of the 2023 Draft, there were high expectations for Wembanyama, but he’s even blown those out of the water. The only other player in league history to reach those numbers (excluding the three-pointers) in their first 100 games was fellow Spurs center David Robinson.
Last year, Wembanyama easily won Rookie of the Year honors, playing in 71 games on averages of 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.6 blocks a night. This year, his scoring and shot-blocking have increased, averaging 25.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 3.9 blocks in 29 games. Besides the mind-blowing stats, he has also helped raise San Antonio’s record to 18-17 and the eighth seed this season, almost surpassing their 22-win total from last year.
All signs point to this as just the beginning for Wembanyama and his presence in the league. He’s been incredibly consistent through 100 games, and despite a few injuries here and there, he plays at a First-Team All-NBA pace every night.
If he continues at a pace of 25, 10, 3, and 3, he will be the only third player in NBA history to finish a year with those stats. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Olajuwon did it twice but during the prime of their careers. Wembanyama, on the other hand, just turned 21 years old and has shown no signs that this represents his peak performance.
Over the weekend, Wembanyama and the Spurs played back-to-back games against the Denver Nuggets and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. San Antonio won the first game, and Wembanyama had 35 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks, while Jokic finished with 41 points, 18 rebounds, and nine assists.
Denver won the second game in overtime, but Wembanyama still had 20 points, 23 rebounds, and four blocks compared to Jokic’s 46 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists. His defense was not enough to stop two monster performances from Jokic, but the fact that he is putting up similar insane stats in that matchup is a credit to his talent.
It would be easy to keep listing the astonishing statistics Wembanyama has put up through his first 100 NBA games because they go on and on. But, if you watch what he does on the court every night, you see how great of a player he already is and will continue to be. He isn’t just putting up numbers, but specifically this year, he is contributing to winning on a San Antonio team that doesn’t have the talent to win this many games.
So far this year, Wembanyama is on pace to make his first All-Star game, his first All-NBA team, his first Defensive Player of the Year award and has an outside shot at winning the MVP trophy. As of January 6th, the Spurs have a record of 18-17 and are only five games back from the second seed in the Western Conference. As the season continues, keep an eye on Wembanyama because if he continues at this pace, he’ll keep setting records and perhaps have the greatest sophomore season in NBA history.
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