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10 hours ago
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Victor Wembanyama is a living, breathing cheat code. The kind of player you build in a lab and on whom anyone can project their wildest basketball fantasies.
Wembanyama isn't just a fascination at 7'5'' -- he's blossoming before our eyes into becoming one of his generation's defining players.
In Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Monday night, Wembanyama delivered a historic performance: 41 points, 24 rebounds and three blocks in 49 minutes. He did it all as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 122-115, in double overtime.
Victor Wembanyama in Game 1 win vs. Thunder:
41 PTS
24 REB
3 AST
3 BLK
14-25 FG
12-13 FT
49 MIN
Joins Charles Barkley, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Moses Malone as the only players in NBA history with 40+ PTS and 20+ REB in a conference finals game. pic.twitter.com/cCfIcypev1
A player whose length and height have changed opponents' entire offensive strategies being the same player who can drill a logo 3-pointer in overtime is easily one of the most unique talents in the history of basketball.
And all that's left to decide is how much the Spurs are going to pay him next year.
By the time Wembanyama signs a contract extension -- which Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus says should be worth "all the money" -- he may already be an NBA champion, in addition to the Defensive Player of the Year trophy he secured last month.
If he plays 65 games next season, Wembanyama will be eligible to sign a contract extension worth $306 million over five years. Even that feels like an underpay, given the value that Wemby offers the Spurs franchise at just 22 years old. He's already the Thunder's biggest nightmare, and figures to be so for years to come as the two teams jostle for prominence -- and titles -- in the West.
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