The San Antonio Spurs are rolling into the final stretch of the regular season with serious momentum. They’ve posted a 20-2 record since the All-Star break, the best mark in the league during that span, and Victor Wembanyama has been at the center of it all.
The 7-foot-4 phenom continues to make his case as an MVP candidate. Against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, Wembanyama dropped 41 points and pulled down 18 rebounds in a 127-113 victory.
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Golden State fell into an early 10-0 hole and never mounted a real comeback. On the season, Wembanyama is putting up 24.7 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, and 3.1 assists across 61 games.
Wembanyama matches Shaq, Hakeem with rare numbers
His recent stretch has landed him in elite company. Over the Spurs’ current 10-game winning streak, Wembanyama has compiled 275 points, 132 rebounds, and 34 blocks.
According to the NBA, only two other players in league history have reached those totals in a 10-game span: Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Against a shorthanded Warriors team, Wembanyama looked completely in control. He wasn’t just the best player on the court, he dictated the pace and flow of the entire game. It was the kind of performance that reinforces why he’s in the MVP discussion in the first place.
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San Antonio has now won 15 straight games with Wembanyama in the lineup. During this run, he’s averaging 27.9 points and 12.3 rebounds per contest.
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San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama
He’s also grabbed at least 15 boards in five consecutive outings, the franchise’s longest such streak since Dennis Rodman accomplished the feat in 1995. Tim Duncan and David Robinson each had four-game runs, but neither extended it to five.
The Spurs are 26-2 over their last 28 contests, and they’re applying pressure on the Oklahoma City Thunder for the West’s No. 1 seed. Oklahoma City holds a 60-16 record, sitting two games ahead of San Antonio’s 58-18 mark with six games remaining.
The Spurs own the season tiebreaker after taking four of five matchups between the two franchises.