San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama accomplished the impressive feat Friday night, joining Michael Jordan as the only players with five steals and five in back-to-back games. The player who blocked shots.
For Wembanyama, statistics mean nothing without a win, and he failed to register a win in either event.
“I want to know he did it in victory, not in defeat,” Wembanyama said. “For me, it’s secondary. Hopefully… we can look back and think it was a good performance. As of today, I can’t settle for defeat.”
In the Spurs’ first game back from the All-Star break on Thursday, Wembanyama had 19 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and five steals against the Sacramento Kings. In that game against the Los Angeles Lakers, he scored 27 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 blocks and 5 steals.
Unfortunately, the impressive statistics of the loss to Tottenham have been a theme for Wembunyama this season. The Spurs currently rank last in the Western Conference with an 11-46 record and have won just one of their last 10 games.
Amid the Spurs’ struggles, Wembanyama is averaging 20.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He has proven himself to be one of the best defenders in the NBA, leading the league in blocks with 3.3 per game and also averaging 1.3 steals per game.
Wembanya also joins Spurs legends David Robinson and Shaquille O’Neal as the only rookies to reach 1,000 points, 150 blocks and 150 assists in 50 games.
Wembunyama made it clear that while he may enjoy posting big numbers, they mean nothing to him without a win. If the Spurs’ young core can figure things out, victory may well finally come.