The Oklahoma City Thunder entered Game 1 of the Western Conference finals with an 8-0 playoff record and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fresh off his second consecutive MVP award. With a raucous home crowd at Paycom Center backing them, the confidence was running high.
However, Victor Wembanyama and his San Antonio Spurs made sure Oklahoma City’s night ended on a sour note as the Spurs grabbed a thrilling 2OT 122-115 win.
And one NBA pundit likened Wembanyama’s trajectory to LeBron James’.
Why Victor Wembanyama’s Historic Game 1 Sparks LeBron James Comparisons
Wembanyama played a career-high 49 minutes to record 41 points and 24 rebounds, shattering Oklahoma City’s undefeated home playoff record and their confidence in the process.
Oklahoma City threw everything at the 22-year-old, with Chet Holmgren trying (and failing) to keep a check on Wembanyama, who absorbed the contact and kept coming.
Late in the first overtime period, San Antonio trailed by three points. Wembanyama stepped up, draining a game-tying 3-pointer to force a second overtime period.
NBA analyst Nick Wright broke down the sequence on his podcast, highlighting Wembanyama’s grit to extend the game by pushing his limits.
“This was only his fourth game ever, he touched 40 minutes,” Wright said. “It was his first game ever he touched 44 and he started the second overtime with 44.”
Wright went on to note that the Frenchman found a completely new gear when the situation demanded it. “I thought at the end of the first overtime he was starting to look gassed then he channeled something special in the second overtime.”
“I got the same feeling, and this is the highest compliment I can give a basketball player that I got when I watched LeBron (James) at the same age have the 48 special against Detroit,” Wright continued.
“When I just thought this 22-year-old who’s never won an MVP, never been to a finals is just clearly the best basketball player alive.”
With his impressive performance on Monday night, Wembanyama became the youngest player in playoff history to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“To this day that opinion infuriates Kobe fans… that it’s like this guy who has none of the accolades or none of the accomplishments, yet you’re saying he’s the best and the answer is ‘Yeah we watched the game, it just feels like he’s the best.’,” Wright concluded.
Wembanyama is backing up every single word of the high praise with historic numbers throughout this postseason run, averaging 22.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks so far.
With a young Spurs core dreaming of a championship, Wembanyama’s production continues to dwarf the ‘inexperience’ narrative with each passing quarter.
Oklahoma City faces a must-win situation at the Paycom Center on Wednesday, because falling 2-0 before heading to San Antonio might become a hill too steep to climb.
