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Victor Wembanyama San Antonio Spurs’s teammates see what we see. Even more, they feel it. And in real time. Almost as if officially putting the NBA on notice, Devin Vassell isn’t holding back after the Spurs blew out the Raptors 122-99 on Monday.
“He’s a tremendous player and this is his rookie year so it’s going to be scary to see his next three, four years, what he’s going to look like, what our team chemistry is going to look like, what me and him playing in a duel is going to look like,” the Spurs’ second leading scorer declared following Monday’s win over the Raptors.
With 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 blocks in Toronto, the top pick in this past summer’s draft became the first rookie since fellow Spurs star big man David Robinson in 1990 to record a triple-double with blocks.
“He did a little bit of everything. Obviously, he’s an all-around talented player. He’s got a great feel for the game and it shows in a variety of ways, whether he’s passing or making decisions, blocking shots, it doesn’t matter,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Asked whether a quadruple-double crossed his mind considering he finished with five assists, Wembanyama admitted he had one eye on the rarest of statistical achievements.
“As a second thought, yes, but I was trying to win first,” the French marvel answered.
Only four players in NBA history, including the aforementioned Robinson, have registered quadruple-doubles. As it stands, Wemby’s performance against the Raptors marks the league’s first triple-double with blocks, period, in more than three years.
Devin Vassell added 25 points in a win that broke the Spurs’ seven-game losing streak. At 19 points per game, the fourth-year NBA guard is right behind Victor Wembanyama’s 20.4 average for the season. He’s glad his 20-year-old superstar teammate is behind him on the court.
“The way that he makes the game and how easy it is, I mean, I’m playing defense and I get beat, it’s almost like, well, go ahead, just try him at this point. I know he’s back there. He’s got my back.”