Who Will Be the New King of the 5x5?
Zach Lowe predicted Wemby will post the NBA's next 5x5. Here are the top candidates to challenge Hakeem Olajuwon on the all-time 5x5 leaderboard
Vote in the poll below.
Weโre overdue. We havenโt had a 5x5 in five years.1
As Zach Lowe noted recently, a 5x5 is โrarer than a no-hitter in baseball.โ But that didnโt stop Zach from predicting last week that Victor Wembanyama would post the NBAโs next 5x5. That adds up: Wemby is as rare as it gets.
As you might recall, a 5x5 is achieved when a player totals at least 5 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, and 5 blocks in a game.
Hakeem Olajuwon put up six of the 21 recorded 5x5s, making The Dream the king of the 5x5 by a wide margin.
But can we assume Olajuwon will hold the record forever? Maybe he will, but the league is full of versatile young players โ below youโll find the leading candidates to challenge The Dream.
One cool thing about 5x5s: They map nicely onto how we expect the NBA game to be played. Sure, 50-point and 60-point and 70-point games are awesome. (Hello, Joel Embiid!) But these days, they give off videogame vibes.
A 5x5 feels more substantial. You have to play both ends. You have to do it all. Think Draymond Green and Anthony Davis, each of whom owns a 5x5.
Top candidates to reach The Dream
๐ Anthony Edwards (Apr. 2023) and rookie Ausar Thompson (Nov.) posted the most recent 4x5s โ at least four of each stat in all five categories. Thompson, who blocked five shots in his first NBA game, has shown a propensity for picking up steals and blocks even in short minutes.
๐ His brother Amen Thompson is another versatile talent to watch. The Thompson twins have a long runway, as they donโt hit age 21 until next week.
๐ Scottie Barnes has the most recent 3x5 (Thursday) โ at least three of each stat in all five categories โ and the all-around game to fill out the box score even more. Barnes is 22, four days older than Ant.
๐ From the same draft class as Barnes, Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs have shown 5x5 potential, and Herb Jones is a sneaky contender. If his minutes rise, so will Jonesโ chances, though at 25 heโs older than most in the 2021 draft class.
๐ When Olajuwon was 26, he had only one 5x5 to his name. So letโs not count out 26-year-old Bam Adebayo, given he has eight 3x5s over the past five years, more than anyone except Davis.
๐ Victor Wembanyama has stuffed the box score plenty in his 36 NBA games, including the Sunday after Thanksgiving, when he posted 22 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 steals, and 4 blocks. He also has a 30-6-6-0-7 game. Heโs blocked five or more shots 10 times already!
Honorable mention
๐ Anthony Davis owns one 5x5, five 4x5s and an amazing 26 other games with at least 3x5 โ plus another three 3x5s in the postseason. Though heโs still playing at a high level, Davis turns 31 in March and isnโt on pace to challenge Olajuwon.
๐ Likewise for Draymond Green (age 34 in March): One 5x5, one 4x5, and 14 other regular-season 3x5s, plus a pair of 4x5s and a 3x5 in the playoffs. Green is the only player in recorded NBA history to have missed a 5x5 by scoring too little, posting 4 points, 11 boards, 10 assists, 10 steals, and 5 blocks on Feb. 10, 2017.
Stars who could post the next 5x5
These big names arenโt likely to challenge Olajuwon, but they are candidates to break the NBAโs 5x5 drought, along with two-way players like Dillon Brooks, Bruce Brown, DeโAnthony Melton, Mitchell Robinson (when healthy) and Derrick White.
๐ Three 3x5s in the past five seasons: Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Kristaps Porziลฤฃis.
๐ Two: Mikal Bridges, Luka Donฤiฤ, LeBron James, Nikola Jokiฤ, Pascal Siakam, Ben Simmons, and Fred VanVleet.
๐ One: Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMelo Ball, Kevin Durant, DeโAaron Fox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton, Brandon Ingram, Kyrie Irving, Jaren Jackson Jr., Julius Randle, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Make your pick
Here are the five ๐ 5x5 nominees:
The last 5x5 was posted on Jan. 1, 2019, by Jusuf Nurkiฤ, with 24 points, 23 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, and 5 blocks.
Via Basketball Reference, here is the full list of 21, from the first recorded NBA 5x5 to the most recent. Other than Olajuwon, only Andrei Kirilenko (3) has posted more than one 5x5.
Note: The NBA did not record blocked shots until the 1973-74 season.
Wembanyama is amazing at shooting. He's tall so he can assist, rebound, and block. I really don't know about the steals, but I think he'll be better as the years go by.
That's interesting. I rarely, if ever, think of that stat. But it makes a lot of sense that it would be rare. 5 of something doesn't sound like that much, at first glance, but there's something so refreshing about it. The mainstream sports scene has been set up in a way where that kind of stat sorta kinda gets buried under the rug, and as a result even a player like Anthony Davis gets disrespected because of it. I'm guilty of being annoyed by AD, his durability can be problematic, but zooming out, yeah, he's a potential 5 x 5 guy moving forward 4 sure.