Victor Wembanyama was all over the stat sheet during Thursday’s win over the Utah Jazz.
The San Antonio Spurs phenom registered his second career 5×5, finishing with 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals, and five blocks in 34 minutes. He’s just the third player in NBA history with multiple 5×5 games, joining Hakeem Olajuwon, who had six in 1,238 career appearances, and Andrei Kirilenko, who recorded two in 797 games.
Prior to Wembanyama’s latest all-around display, there were only 22 recorded instances of a player tallying at least five of each of the NBA’s major stats in a single contest – including his first on Feb. 23 as a rookie against the Los Angeles Lakers.
However, Thursday’s addition to the history books marks the first time a player has pulled it off while hitting four or more threes; Wembanyama shot 4-of-13 from beyond the arc against Utah, though Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich envisions the 7-foot-3 star continuing to evolve as a shooter.
“He is more of a perimeter player than he is a post player,” Popovich told Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News postgame. “We want him to be able to do everything: isolate, shoot, do the whole deal. We just can’t do it all at once. It depends on the situation and what is going on.”
The 20-year-old is now averaging 18.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.2 blocks, and one steal five games into his sophomore campaign.
