Wemby Does It!
Victor Wembanyama is the new prince of the 5x5. Will he dethrone the king of the 5x5, Hakeem Olajuwon?
Friday night, Victor Wembanyama scored 27 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, and added 8 assists, 5 steals, and 5 blocks vs. the Lakers.
That, my friends, is a 5x5.
By stuffing the box score with 5 or more in each of the five main categories, Wemby posted the NBA’s first 5x5 in five years.
On January 23, exactly one month before Wemby’s feat, I asked the following question in an article:
(To see that piece, click on Read full story →)
So Far, So Good
I added a pair of polls at the end of that January 23 piece.
Here are the results of those polls:
Well done!
You guys projected Wemby — or someone — to catch Olajuwon. Vic’s off to a heck of a start in that potential chasedown.
Five 5x5 Facts
A few quick things before we get to today’s polls:
🏀 Victor’s Spurs lost to the Lakers, 123-118, a fact he lamented after the game.
🏀 The night before, in a five-point loss to the Kings, Wembanyama came one assist short of his first 5x5 with a 19-13-4-5-5 game.
🏀 He’s the first player to post a 5x5 since Jusuf Nurkić on January 1, 2019 …
🏀 … and the first rookie since Jamaal Tinsley on November 16, 2001.
🏀 San Antonio’s next game is on the 25th. Wemby made his NBA debut on the 25th of October. The Spurs have 25 games remaining this season. 5x5 = 25. #numerology
Would have taken me a lot of guesses to land on Jamaal Tinsley!
Gosh the Wemby fella just might break Olajuwon's 5x5 record as a rookie - yay. He has nothing else to play for, no rookie scoring record due to the minutes limits, and no playoffs or even easy-to-reach play-in. I guess the Spurs are using the entire season as Vic's training camp, focusing on his future.
And that is as wrong as tanking, as wrong as the Process; an entire season and roster wasted. If the Spurs get the number one pick again does it justify the losing and bad basketball? Only if they draft the next Timmy or Steph - and they have to be NBA ready out of the gate, produce att All Star levels and stay healthy.
San Antonio could have surrounded him with decent vets at the start through free agency and the waiver wire, then added a few more at the trading deadline via buyouts. Instead they experimented with Sochan at point and played a bunch of projects that were too ignorant to realize you PASS WEMBY THE BALL. Every time. Remember Jordan's rookie season? Vic isn't the bicycle you put training wheels on, he's the muscle car you add the nitrous to, and ditch the back seat.
So Wemby spends his rookie year chasing a stat that could be broken by Derrick White, trying not to let loses eat him up, and playing with teammates that will be playing in Europe or Asia next year. Enough fans are willing to pay to see him just be interesting, and the TV money and draft capital get tucked away for a shot at the next young free agent. But Wemby doesn't get to have the dominant big man rookie season like Kareem, or Unseld, or Russell. He has to settle for Joe Barry Carroll numbers and ESPN highlights.