CNN
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Victor Wembanyama put his name alongside some legendary figures in NBA history after posting yet another monstrous stat-line during the San Antonio Spurs’ 116-96 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday.
The 20-year-old scored 34 points while also adding 14 rebounds, six assists and three blocks as the Spurs comfortably recorded their fifth win of the 2024 season.
Monday’s game was Wembanyama’s 82nd in the league since being chosen as the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, meaning he has now played the equivalent of a full season.
And with his big performance against the Kings, the Frenchman joined a select group of Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Blake Griffin and Sidney Wicks as the only players in league history with at least 1,700 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists in their first 82 games.
When asked about what he’s learned after playing a full season, Wembanyama highlighted the mental aspect of preparing for a busy schedule.
“Approaching the game mentally is more important than approaching it even physically,” he told reporters. “Of course, we’re going to take care of our bodies but there are people whose jobs it is to take care of our bodies, make sure we’re healthy. Of course, we’re going to think about that but to be great you’ve just got to approach the game with that killer mentality.”
Monday’s performance came after Wembanyama filled the stats sheet during a victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday, with 24 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks – his third career game with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and five three-pointers, the most in NBA history.
One thing that has developed for Wembanyama as the season has gone on is his success from three-point range.
He began the season shooting 25% from deep but has since shot 14-for-27 on his three-point attempts, including going six-for-12 against the Kings to match his career high.
“I’m just taking better threes,” Wembanyama said. “Yeah, of course it’s feeling better. I’m 20, I’m hoping for some years it’s going to keep feeling better and better. There is no reason for it to feel worse.”
Monday’s game also included some of Wembanyama’s trademark amazing defense, including a 360 block of Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis at the rim.
His teammate, Chris Paul, said that this version of the seven-foot-three center is far from the finished article.
“I wish you guys could see the work that goes in day in and day out,” the veteran point guard told reporters. “You know how talented he is, but his will to want to get better, his will to want to work on things – the more games we play, I think we all will get more and more familiar with each other.”
The Spurs are 5-6 following the victory and host the Washington Wizards at Frost Bank Center on Wednesday.