Victor Wembanyama gave Spurs fans the full menu against the Timberwolves, and San Antonio looked like a team that finally found the version of its star everyone has been waiting for.
The headline number was obvious: 43 points, a season high. Wembanyama also took a career-high 34 shots and knocked down 17 of them.
But the bigger story was where the damage came from. Most of his scoring came in the paint, the kind of interior punishment Spurs fans have been craving from the moment the 2023 NBA draft lottery changed everything.
Mitch Johnson said after the game, via San Antonio Express-News’ Jeff McDonald, that the Halloween King played “with his teammates,” and that connection showed up all night. Wembanyama kept finding ways to stay involved in the action, screening, rolling hard, staying connected, spacing the floor, and making himself available when the offense needed an outlet.
It was a complete performance because he didn’t force one lane of attack. He hit threes, worked the midrange, and kept hammering away inside. The result was a night that showed the whole package, not just the highlight version.
That’s part of what makes the conversation around him so intense. Wembanyama is 7'4" and built like nobody else in the league, which makes it tempting to expect the finished product right now.
But he’s still only 22, and the growth is still happening. The Alien is already processing the game faster than most young players ever do, but he’s nowhere near his peak.
That’s the strange balance with a player this unique: the ceiling is so high that every step forward feels like it should happen instantly, even when the development curve is still unfolding.
Wembanyama doesn’t seem interested in ducking those expectations. He already puts them on himself, and when a player with an eight-foot wingspan sets that kind of standard, everyone else is just along for the ride.
Johnson pointed to that growth after the game when asked about Wembanyama’s maturation.
“We’ve seen a young man over 3+ years now who has matured physically, he’s matured emotionally, he’s matured mentally, he’s put a lot of hard work in, and when you have the talent and the God-given ability that he has... the game slowing down for him, whether that’s pattern recognition over time or just anticipation... When they have that recipe, you just see these jumps in improvement.”
That evolution is showing up in the numbers, too. Wembanyama’s 43-point night pushed him into the top five in points per game at 28.0, behind only Luka Doncic, Tyrese Maxey, Stephen Curry, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
And with the defense he brings on top of that scoring surge, the MVP case is starting to take shape fast. The league wanted more offense from him.
It’s getting more offense. That’s a problem for everybody else.
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The comparison naturally leads back to Kawhi Leonard, whose third-season production now serves as the old benchmark for a new Spurs hopeful. Castles role and development path are different, and that matters, but the early signs are enough to make people wonder whether this is just a hot start or the beginning of something much bigger. He still has plenty of time to answer that question, which is what makes the discussion around him so compelling right now. [Read more 🡒]