On Monday night, Victor Wembanyama and Dylan Harper led the San Antonio Spurs to a 122-115 double-overtime win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals.
Wembanyama, Harper and the rest of the Spurs overcame back-to-back MVP winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with a masterful display of basketball.
Wembanyama put up 41 points and 24 rebounds and Harper added 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and seven steals.
They reminded the fans at the arena and watching on television of the dominant era where Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard ruled the association by winning five titles between 1999 and 2014.
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Wembanyama goes alien mode in West Finals opener
The 7-foot-4 Wembanyama, who placed third in NBA MVP voting behind Nikola Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander, showed every basketball fan and expert who was more deserving of the award.
His historic performance is comparable to that of legends like Wilt Chamberlain, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Jokic.
The French center went 14 for 25 from the field, 12 for 13 from the foul line, and his lone 3-pointer came late in the first overtime, tying the game from well beyond the arc.
Without that parking-lot heave, there’s probably no second overtime. There’s probably a 1-0 series lead for Oklahoma City going into Game 2 on Wednesday night.
Wembanyama also performed well on the defensive end, blocking three shots and changing countless others.
Wemby was other-worldly. He made four-time NBA champion LeBron James look like a genius for popularizing the term “Alien” for the Spurs giant as he dunked on the Thunder and flexed, more than once.
The big man led the Spurs in lording over the Thunder in the rebounding battle, 61-40.
He also showed the world that he can be durable when needed, playing for 49 minutes, and played more like the MVP rather than actual winner Gilgeous-Alexander, who struggled his way to 24 points.
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Victor Wembanyama ‘motivated’ by the MVP loss to SGA
After the game, Wembanyama, who earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, admitted the sight of the Thunder star receiving his second-straight MVP trophy before the game made the clash more personal “for sure.”
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said the ceremony that saw Gilgeous-Alexander lifting the award “100%” motivated his star.
He noted that the center’s competitive side pushed the Frenchman to be relentless in his approach and prove that he is better than the regular season MVP.
Wembanyama, however, shrugged off the MVP loss as the reason for his excellent first-game performance.
Instead, he diverted it to the youth brigade’s readiness to play “in any environment, in any place, against anybody.”
Harper filled in excellently for the absent starter De’Aaron Fox, providing the all-around game that the guard produces every game.
The two players had help from Stephon Castle, who contributed 17 points and 11 assists for the Spurs, and have now won five of the six games they’ve had with the Thunder this season.
Alex Caruso scored 31 points to lead the Thunder and Jalen Williams returned from a six-game injury absence to score 26.
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