Never say that Victor Wembanyama can’t rebound.
A day after arguably the worst match of his career – during which he scored a career-low six points on 1 of 5 shooting plus eight rebounds, two assists and four turnovers in a loss to rival Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder – the San Antonio Spurs star recorded his second 5×5 game ever.
Against the Utah Jazz, Wembanyama had 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals and five blocks in a 106-88 victory. Oddly enough, these were his first interceptions of the season, in his fifth game.
He also showed up to work on that historic night with the winner of a Halloween costume, if you’re familiar with the movie “Spirited Away.”
A 5×5 game is much rarer than its cousin, the triple-double, to the point that Wembanyama is only the third player in NBA history to post multiple such plays. Hakeem Olajuwon is the all-time leader with six games in 1,238 and is followed by Andrei Kirilenko with three games in 797. Only 12 other players I recorded one.
Wembanyama has just played his 76th match. He posted his first match in Februarybecoming the second rookie to do so.
The 5×5 feels like a stat designed for Wembanyama to break, much like Russell Westbrook did with the triple-double. No player in NBA history possesses the Frenchman’s combination of length, agility and ball skills, meaning he’s a threat to come up with five blocks and five steals, the toughest parts of the feat, if he is sufficiently active in defense.
