The San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons entered their matchup on Wednesday with eight wins between them. In terms of combined winning percentage (.125), it was, literally, the worst matchup in NBA history at this point in the season.
The Spurs won the game, 130-108, but, honestly, nobody cares about that. There was one reason to watch this game: Victor Wembanyama. And man, did he deliver.
The Spurs rookie, who is playing on a minutes restriction, put up 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in 21 minutes, making him the second player in history to record a triple-double in fewer than 22 minutes of action. The other is Russell Westbrook, who did it in 20 minutes back in 2014.
Victor Wembanyama put on a show and recorded his first-career triple-double on way to a Spurs W 👏🙌
16 PTS / 12 REB/ 10 AST
Wemby (21 MIN) is the second player in NBA history to record a triple-double while playing less than 22 MIN. pic.twitter.com/eIsUHo3fNn
— NBA (@NBA) January 11, 2024
Look at some of those highlights. It’s still impossible to get used to Wembanyama’s length, and some of those passes are next-level for a guy his size, particularly as he leads in transition under complete control.
This absolute bullet of an outlet pass deserves its own look:
WEMBY WILD FULL COURT DIME. 😱🤯 pic.twitter.com/e08qyTX5ua
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 11, 2024
This is the first triple-double of Wembanyama’s young career. He is now the youngest center in history to record a triple-double, and the youngest player, period, at 20 years and six days, to post one without any turnovers, surpassing Andre Iguodala, who was 21 and change when he put up a zero-turnover trip-dub in 2005.
Not everything went perfectly for Wemby. His streak of 19 consecutive games, which dates back almost two months, with at least one blocked shot came to an end. Over his previous three games, he had recorded 14 blocks. Since the start of December, he’s averaging over four blocks per game.
With the win, the Spurs are now 6-30 on the season, while the Pistons, who have once again lost six straight after finally snapping their 28-game losing streak, fall to 3-35.