Victor Wembanyama is Special

 Record-Breaking Stats

Victor Wembanyama, rookie star player for the San-Antonio Spurs, made history of Friday afternoon, joining a private club by posting a 5x5 stat line. The young French player took over the box score during his defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers, as he finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, and 5 blocks, just in 31 minutes. He now just recently became the 15th player to log a 5x5 stat line, which is when players record at least 5 points, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks in a single game. Wembanyama was the youngest ever to achieve this milestone. Additionally, according to the NBA, the star French rookie at 20 years old, broke the previous record of 22 years set by Andrei Kirilenko since the league first began tracking stats. 

The Future

Victor Wembanyama is seen as the future of the NBA, declared on Friday night. He faced off against one of the NBA's greatest, Lebron James. Although James came out with the final victory, well because of his 30 points, the 39 year old was equally in awe of the rookie's young talent in the league. 

"This kid is SPECIAL," James wrote on X, adding an alien emoji. 

Referring to the alien emoji, James gave this nickname to Wembanyama before he was drafted last year, alluding to his unique skillset of ball handling abilities and frame, as he stands 7 ft and 4 inches tall. The rookie's rare skillset and build has made him one of the NBA's future superstars, and he has enjoyed an excellent rookie season so far, despite the Spur's losing record. He currently leads all rookies in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks, as well as the highest blocking record in the whole NBA. 

Superstar Potential

James continued to expand on Wembanyama's game after Friday night.

"He doesn't have a ceiling," James told NBA reporters. 

"He can do whatever he wants to do in his career. It seems like he enjoys the game. It seems like he puts the work in, just from the outside looking in." 

"I said a long time ago how special he was, and it's really that simple." 

Victor Wembanyama's 5x5 came a day after he fell one assist shy of the mark on Thursday against the Sacramento Kings. Then finally, on Friday against the prestigious team, the Lakers, he reached the mark just in 30 minutes, which is now the smallest amount of playing time needed to reach this milestone in NBA history. It is the first 5x5 stat line that has been completed since 2019 when Jusuf Nurkic for the Trailblazers completed this goal against the Sacramento Kings. The rookie also joined more of an elite standard with his achievement, joining Michael Jordan as the only players to get at least five steals and blocks in consecutive games. Although, Wembanyama couldn't enjoy his achievement as his team just suffered a mortifying loss. 

"I wonder if (Jordan) did it in wins, not losses," Wembanyama told NBA reporters. "To me, it's secondary. Hopefully in the future we can look back and see this as a good performance, but as of today, I can't be satisfied in a loss." 

The San Antonio Spurs 

With having players with such potential superstar talent, where do the Spurs go from here? It is hard to believe that a team with a 7-foot freak can't win many consecutive games in a row. This is where we now need to think, is the franchise in the wrong here, or is it truly the players. The Spurs somehow need to increase their winningness as a player like Victor Wembanyama would probably not stay with a team that obtains a continuous losing record. The star rookie needs more of a powerful arsenal around him, so that he can truly show the NBA what he's made of, while also grabbing some wins for the team. The Spurs need to take in that the rookie is providing the team most of the profit that the organization earns, so they need to be smart in how they promote Wembanyama and his teammates surrounding him. As standing last in their conference, with a 7-24 record, holding a 3 game losing streak, the Spurs better figure out how to properly run their team for the sake of their reputation.