If Victor Wembanyama has a chance to go for a dunk, he’s going to take it.
Even if that means reaching over his own teammate.
On Friday night, the No. 1 pick of the 2023 NBA Draft did just that in his second game with the Spurs against the Rockets, which turned into a 126-122 overtime win.
In the opening minutes in the first quarter, the Spurs had control of the ball on offense as small forward Keldon Johnson tossed up a lob to the basket from just beyond the 3-point arc.
In the paint stood both forward Jeremy Sochan and Wembanyama.
The French rookie has about eight inches of height over Sochan, so he jumped over his teammate and grabbed the ball before finishing an alley-oop for his second basket of the game.
against the Rockets. NBAE via Getty Images
It’s not every day you see someone posterizing their own team, but that was essentially the case Friday night in San Antonio.
It was a hot start for the big man, but he finished the first half going 2-for-10 from the field — and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc — with five points and four rebounds.
However, he turned things on in the second half and finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
“I really, really love winning,” Wembanyama said after the game, per the Associated Press. “It’s what I love most in life. So, of course, it felt great. Coming back in the locker room, [coach Gregg Popovich] acknowledged that it was my first-ever NBA win. It just made me proud for a moment, proud of myself. Of course, it’s just one win and we’ve got a whole lot more to come and a whole lot more tough games to come.”
He also added three blocks, including two that came back-to-back in an unreal sequence.
He then hit a critical tying basket with 20 seconds remaining to force the game into overtime.
“That was big time,” Spurs center Zach Collins said, per the AP. “He was dominant. Great moves. Got his body in him all night.”
It came after his debut earlier this week, when he scored 15 points and grabbed five boards in a Wednesday night loss to the Mavericks.
“I was just focused on being the best I can be when I stepped back on the court,” Wembanyama said after his debut, according to the Associated Press.
Dallas star Luka Doncic also had high praise for the young star.
“He’s going to be amazing, he already is,” Doncic said, according to the AP. “The size obviously [stands out], like everybody talks. The way he moves for [his size] he moves incredible. He moves like a point guard almost. It’s pretty amazing to see.”
