Victor Wembanyama does a bit of everything in Spurs’ loss to the Timberwolves

The more you lose, the more you want to win.

Victor Wembanyama wasted no time in recording his fourth straight double-double despite the Spurs’ struggles in adding to the win column. Against the Timberwolves, he recorded 17 points, 13 rebounds, and continued the block party with 4 swats, one short of having 5 blocks in 4 straight games.

Devin Vassell went full Energizer Bunny orbiting around Zach Collins until the big man finally fed Vassell who bullied his way to the rim for an emphatic dunk. Vassell led the team with 21 points and also poured in 6 boards, 6 assists, and 3 steals.

Wembanyama, on this play, showed off his spin move and nifty steps along the baseline for the jam. I’ll continue to be amazed at anything this kid does, but the fabulous footwork tops them all.

No look? No problem, said the rookie, who found Julian Champagnie for the easy bucket. Wembanyama is only averaging 3.3 assists for the year, and it definitely feels like there will be plenty of room in that area for him to grow and become an elite playmaker for the team.

Wembanyama maybe moved two inches before he vacuumed up this shot attempt. He didn’t even leave his feet! He just existed and grabbed that ball like magnets were going out of fashion. Where does that score on the efficiency metric? 1000 out of 10, I postulate. If a basketball player was any more efficient with their movement (or lack thereof because they are so efficient), they’d achieve basketball nirvana.

That’s it. Peak Victor Wembanyama in 5 years will be nothing but an orb of uber efficient, radiant energy with an 8-foot wingspan, swallowing opposing players’ shot attempts, draining threes with no wasted motion, and cradling the ball through the rim without having to even register a vertical effort because basketball nirvana is a state of spiritual liberation, free of analytics, talking head pundits, and a cool t-shirt my wife will wear once every so often when she’s listening to Foo Fighters.

Not a current Spurs player, but once a Spur and always a Spur who has my appreciation, DeMar DeRozan had this stupid, pretty 360 reverse layup.

But of course, I digress. This is a Spurs site, and Wembanyama was quick to remind us that with this mighty slamma mamma jamma. The future is bright. It may seem far off in the horizon, but trust that the process will be accelerated sooner than later.

If you missed the game because you were too busy binge watching interviews on “Hot Ones,” here are the full-game highlights:

Next up, the Spurs finally head home to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, February 29, 2024.