Victor Wembanyama dominates in Spurs’ overtime win against the Nets

We’ve been on the run, driving in the sun, looking out for number one.

The Spurs found some mettle and won an overtime game. Behind their prized rookie (*cough* of the year *cough*), the Silver and Black received a 33 point, 15 rebound, 7 assist, and whopping 7 block game from one Victor Wembanyama. Devin Vassell also shared the load in volume shooting with 25 points and 8 assists. Keldon Johnson was hot from downtown and contributed 24 points with 5 – 8 from three-point land.

Plenty of highlights abound, and Wembanyama’s box score stuffing night leads the way.

If I had a nickel for every block Wembanyama has made this season, I’d put it in cryptocurrency and end up with I have no idea how all that works so let’s say a gabillion dollars. Are GameStock steam stocks still a thing?

Raucous play for the raucous crowd. Devin Vassell found his way deep into the paint and fed a hungry Wembanyama for the slam.

Speaking of raucous crowd, it was nice seeing ATX coming out to cheer on the Spurs, incidentally sporting the “SATX” on their jerseys. When I was living in the SATX, I was always told not to call it SATX much like people who live in the O.C. always say not to call it The O.C., whether or not you’re a fan of the early ‘00s teen angst drama.

Tre Jones went deep down the seam and found Vassell on the other end for the flush. I’m not not saying that Tre Jones would make a decent quarterback, but there are at least 5 NFL teams who could do a lot worse than Tre Isiah Jones of Apple Valley, Minnesota.

Wembanyama is dining out on this feed from Vassell. This particular dunk late in the game also tied the score for good measure. Even if both teams might be out of playoff contention (well, the Nets still have a shot at making the play-in tournament), games like this are certainly valuable for young players to learn how quote unquote win.

Whenever you bank a shot while barely lifting your feet from the floor, we call that the “Tim Duncan.”

Wembanyama looks like he already perfected this move. He’s also doing something more and more these days that Duncan was a master at: never bringing the ball down lest it gets swiped or blocked.

Devin Vassell! Upsetting the balance of the universe with this rim rocker. Vassell has particularly been aggressive in 2024, with all of his 20+ attempt games coming in the new year. Do we still say Happy New Year even though it’s March? I saw someone on my social media post a picture of an “Easter Tree,” which suggests to me they were too lazy to take down their Christmas Tree so they put pink and yellow ribbons on it to pass it off as such—so I guess Happy New Year can live on in March.

The Spurs look like they have been practicing their lobs to Wembanyama, which seems quite obvious to say is a cheat code. And you don’t have to buy one of those game genie cartridges or press up up down down left right left right B A select start to get 99 lives on Contra or pretend Horace Grant is Michael Jordan on NBA Jam.

Wembanyama showing off his craft with a crafty behind-the-back move before finishing at the rim. Maybe Wembanyama is looking to submit a mix tape to And-1 because he was in his bag on Sunday.

It’s low-hanging fruit to say, but if Wembanyama can do this as a rookie, it’s exciting to see him grow his game in the future. It’s both mesmerizing and incredulous to see someone do this on the court. And Wemby makes it look organic and fluid at the same time.

The Wembanyama super slam is the star of this sequence, but I wanted to also highlight Jeremy Sochan dribbling into the defense, pivoting around, and it almost looked like his face realized, “Oh yeah hey, here comes Victor roaring down the court, let’s see what happens when I feed him the ball.” And good things were had by all.

If you missed the game because you were too busy dyeing your pancakes green, here are the full-game highlights:

Next up, the Spurs head back down I-35 to the confines of the Frost Bank Center for a match-up with the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.