Victor Wembanyama’s abilities are so powerful he forces you to remember things you attempt to firmly push from your mind. Like that Minnesota Timberwolves game, for example. The Spurs’ performance as a whole was so poor that the last thing you want to do is think about it. However, Wemby had one of his ‘black hole’ performances with seven blocks, etching the night in your memory.
He recently passed Manu Ginobili on San Antonio’s all-time block list. Manu’s 319 blocks were accumulated over the span of 1,057 games. Meanwhile, Vic sits with 327 blocks in 92 games. Performances like the one against Minnesota will lead to the Alien surpassing everyone else on the record books, and it will probably happen faster than you realize.
Wembanyama will be in the top ten before the season is over
Rasho Nesterovic is the next player on the list with 370 blocks. Wemby blocked 254 shots in the rookie season, and he already has 73 through 21 games this year. He’ll blow by Nesterovic in another month or so. Looking at the top-10 list, it’s easy to see how quickly Victor will climb the ranks.
1. Tim Duncan – 3,020
2. David Robinson – 2,954
3. Artis Gilmore – 700
4. George Gervin – 647
5. Billy Paultz – 543
6. George Johnson – 512
7. LaMarcus Aldridge – 471
8. Jakob Poeltl – 456
9. Danny Green – 450
10. Rasho Nesterovic – 370
11. Victor Wembanyama – 327
First of all, Danny Green deserves a special shoutout for cracking the top ten on this list. What a player. As far as the rest of the list, what pops out is how close he is to everyone not named David Robinson and Tim Duncan. He’ll pass Artis Gilmore on this list by the time his third season ends if he keeps up his current pace.
His shot-blocking is on a level rarely seen. Hassan Whiteside blocked 269 in the 2015-16 season, but that was the only time he was even close to numbers that high. Serge Ibaka went for 241 and 242 in back-to-back seasons, and Dwight Howard blocked 231 shots and 228 in two of the three years he won Defensive Player of the Year.
When players like these are on the court, fireworks happen on the defensive end. Opponents begin to seek them out because everyone wants to be the one to dunk on and score over the most elite rim protectors the game has to offer. So, there will be plenty of opportunities for Wemby to stack numbers in the block category.
It was the third time that Wemby had seven or more blocks. San Antonio is 0-3 in those games, but we don’t throw away the accomplishments as he stacks impressive stats on his way to a Defensive Player of the Year award he’s the favorite to win. This is a young team, and they’re going to lose games, so relish in the experiences along the way.
