Andrew Lopez, ESPNF February 24, 2024, 3:00 a.m. ET
LOS ANGELES – Victor Wembanyama answered questions at the podium, sitting in front of a San Antonio Spurs banner and learning about the statistical feat he just accomplished Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers
Wembanyama joined Jamaal Tinsley (2001) as the only NBA rookies to complete a 5×5 game – with at least 5 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks in a game – and also became only the second player to do so this achieved 5 blocks and 5 steals in consecutive games, along with Michael Jordan.
Wembanyama paused to reflect on Jordan's performance, then asked: “I wonder if he did it in Siegen.”
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Jordan, making it in his third season, actually did it with wins. Wembanyama managed with defeats. Wembanyama's Spurs lost 113-108 to the Lakers on Friday night, despite the rookie's best efforts.
Wembanyama finished the game with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks, becoming just the 15th player in NBA history to record a 5×5 and the first since Jusuf Nurkic in 2019.
It came just one night after he narrowly missed the feat Thursday night in Sacramento by missing an assist. Wembanyama became the first player in NBA history to average 5×5 over a two-game period since 1973-74, when blocks were first recorded as an official statistic.
Wembanyama played 31 minutes, the fewest in a 5×5 game, and was also the youngest player to reach this statistical mark at 20 years old. He also became the second player with a line of 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, five blocks and five steals, joining Hakeem Olajuwon, who did so four times.
But those performances didn't mean that much to Wembanyama, he said, until they led to victories.
“For me it’s secondary,” Wembanyama said. “Hopefully in the future, and I think it’s a good achievement, but at this point I can’t settle for defeat.”
The Lakers' superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis were too much for the young Spurs. James had 30 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds while Davis had 28 points and 13 rebounds.
“Of course it was a challenge [going against] “It’s one of the best duos in the league,” Wembanyama said. “But I still think we beat a lot of teams when we play like that.”
“But I think in the end it came down to maturity because every single one of us made a mistake every time. Small mistakes, a missed layup, a turnover of the ball. We went down, we went back to four.” “Losed seven times and then we made mistakes. So yeah, it’s maturity.”
After the game, James had nothing but praise for Wembanyama.
“He has no ceiling,” James said. “He can do whatever he wants with his career. It seems like he's enjoying the game. It seems like he puts in a lot of work. From the outside looking in, I'm not with him every day.” Basis, but I've said how special he was a long time ago and it's literally as simple as that.
“As to your question about chaos [defensively]there are people in our league that you have to be accountable to every time you go to the edge or the boundaries in our league history, and he's at the top of the list, [if not] around the top, with all the big ones.
When asked about some of the best rookies he's ever seen, James named players like Zion Williamson, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
“He’s one of those guys who had an outstanding rookie season,” James said. “People who came in and [dominated]. But can you keep it up? We had people come in and really be damned [good]. I think the one thing that makes Wemby stand out above all the people I've sort of mentioned is his length.
“You see how big it is and how long it is. The guy next to me,” James said, pointing at Davis, “has a lot of length and is even taller than AD. So that makes him a little bit different.” “
Friday's loss dropped the Spurs' season record to 11-46. It was their tenth defeat in eleven games.
But Wembanyama's teammates know the frequent defeats won't last forever, in part because of how much of a difference the rookie makes and can be.
“I just think he shows how special he is,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell told ESPN. “Of course we know what we are building on. We know what we have and it's just difficult because I talked about it yesterday. You sit here and compete night after night, day after day and you “We're not winning.”
“It's obviously hard. We will always hold on to him. He wants to be great and we appreciate that and it’s not just him, I think we all want to be great.”
ESPN's Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.