The San Antonio Spurs fought hard in a rough double-overtime bout against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was an insane back-and-forth between the two top teams in the NBA Playoffs. By the end of this clash, it became hard to declare that Victor Wembanyama had no intended malice in spoiling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP presentation. He battered them down with a massive 122-115 Game 1 win while taking home loads of historic records.
Wembanyama rises to legend status in Game 1 vs. Thunder, breaks multiple NBA Playoffs records
Just by the bare numbers alone, Victor Wembanyama was doing something special to toy with the Thunder in Game 1. Coach Mitch Johnson gave him an insane 49 minutes of playing time, and not a single second went to waste. The Spurs superstar dropped 41 points on a 56% field goal percentage while also knocking down 92.3% of his free throws. He grabbed 24 rebounds, dropped three assists, notched three blocks, and even had a steal.
Now, let’s get into the pile of records Wembanyama broke.
The Spurs superstar outrebounded all of the Thunder starters all by himself. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams combined for just 23 rebounds while Wembanyama grabbed 24 rebounds for this game. But that is more of a feat than a historic NBA Playoffs record.
After Game 1, Wembanyama has become the all-time leader in conference finals points per game and rebounds per game. Obviously, the numbers will flatten out as the NBA Playoffs progress, but an insane performance like this usually sets a precedent for more historic games to come.
The Spurs superstar is also just the youngest player in league history to have recorded 35+ points and 20+ rebounds in a conference finals game. Furthermore, he also passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the youngest player to have a 40-point and 20-rebound game in the NBA Playoffs. Abdul-Jabbar was 22 years and 352 days old when he secured the record, while Wembanyama is just 22 years and 134 days old.
Wembanyama also joins greats after his Game 1 thrashing of the Thunder. He is only the fourth player in NBA Playoffs history to have 40+ points and 20+ rebounds in a conference finals bout. The other three? It’s none other than Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, and Abdul-Jabbar. The Spurs superstar is also the first player with 35+ points and 20+ rebounds since Charles Barkley in 1993.
Moreover, Wembanyama equals insane talents like Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, and Nikola Jokic in the annals of NBA Playoffs history. They are the only four players to have recorded 30+ points and 20+ rebounds in the conference finals since the turn of the millennium.
In the spirit of Spurs basketball, Wembanyama also achieved great NBA Playoffs heights with his teammates. The superstar, along with Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper are the youngest trio to have each recorded a double-double in the same postseason game. To make it more specific, the young Spurs trio is the first teammates age 22 or younger to have done so in league history, per ESPN Insights.
Aliens really can control the weather because thunderstorms were rare under Wembanyama’s watch in Game 1.