SI:AM | Victor Wembanyama Torches Lakers With Historic Scoring Outburst

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I had no idea when I shared that screenshot of Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Lægreid yesterday that he’d suddenly become one of the biggest stories at the Olympics for his bizarre admission of infidelity. The woman in question doesn’t sound interested in reconciling with Lægreid.

In today’s SI:AM:
⛸️ Team USA’s speed skating star
🏒 U.S. crushes Canada
🥌 U.S. is coming for curling

He was on fire

I could probably lead this newsletter by writing about Victor Wembanyama 82 times a year. Every night, he has some highlight-worthy play or unbelievable stat line that makes you question what is possible on the basketball court. I could very well turn this newsletter into WEMBY:AM, but I have to save my Wemby talk for when he does something truly absurd—like last night.

Wembanyama had one of the most impressive offensive displays you’ll ever see in Tuesday night’s game against the Lakers, putting up 37 points before halftime and finishing with 40 points in just 26 minutes. He went 13-for-20 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from three, and also had 12 rebounds. No player this season has scored more points in the first half of a game. It was also the highest-scoring first half by any Spurs player since the NBA began tracking play-by-play data.

Wembanyama was on fire right from the jump, scoring 17 of San Antonio’s first 20 points. He finished the first quarter with 25 points in eight minutes, and he tacked on another 12 in the second quarter. His outrageous 37 first-half points came in just 18 minutes of playing time. His outburst allowed the Spurs to take an enormous 84–55 lead into halftime against a severely depleted Lakers team. (LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart all sat out due to injury.)

Wembanyama then took his foot off the gas a bit in the second half, scoring just three points in roughly eight minutes of action in the third quarter before Spurs coach Mitch Johnson pulled his starters.

Wembanynama is just the third player in NBA history to score at least 40 points in 26 minutes or less, joining Patrick Ewing and Sleepy Floyd. (Like Wembanyama, Ewing also posted a double-double with 11 rebounds.)

The Spurs went on to win, 136–108. The Lakers were so shorthanded and the game was so lopsided that Bronny James played a season-high 25 minutes. Despite the game being out of reach, Wembanyama said he wished he could have stayed on the court to keep padding his stats.

“I was also pushing to go back, but I mean, they did the right thing by keeping me on the bench,” Wembanyama said. “We got to think long term. But yeah, these kind of games, you got to have the greed. I mean, every game you have to have this greed to want more every time, because you know at all times it doesn’t matter who's on the court, it’s somebody who’s going to want to stop you from doing what you do out there. So you got to be greedy.”

It was Wembanyama’s sixth career 40-point game. He’s scored exactly 40 three times, 42 points twice and has a career high of 50 points. (Wembanyama played just 32 minutes in the 50-point game, making him and Joel Embiid the only centers to score that many points in that little playing time.)

Wembanyama has been a sensation since entering the league in 2023 as the most widely hyped draft pick since LeBron, and he’s made steady progress to maximize his limitless potential. He’s especially improved as a shooter and a rebounder. With the Spurs going all-in to build a winning team around him, San Antonio is now a serious contender in the Western Conference. The Spurs are 37–16 after last night’s win, second in the conference behind the Thunder (41–13). They’re on pace for their best finish since 2016–17, when Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker led the team to a 61–21 record and a conference finals appearance. After years of disappointing results, Wembanyama’s development means another deep playoff run is possible for the Spurs.

The best of Sports Illustrated

Jordan Stolz of the United States competes in the men's 500m race during the ISU World Cup Speed Skating — Jordan Stolz is the next big thing in speedskating. | Leah Hennel/International Skating Union/Getty Images

Michael Rosenberg reports that a gold medal appears inevitable for the U.S. women’s hockey team after Tuesday’s thrashing of Canada.
If you don’t know the name Jordan Stolz already, you will soon. Pat Forde traces the journey of the American phenom who is primed to take over speedskating.
After Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse won silver in mixed doubles curling on Tuesday, Forde declares that, soon enough, Team USA will be coming for gold.
Albert Breer details how Sam Darnold built an unwavering team identity in Seattle. He also examines who will be the Seahawks’ next offensive coordinator after Klint Kubiak took the Raiders’ head coaching job.
Chris Mannix says the NBA’s tanking crisis is worse than ever. He has some ideas for how to fix it.
Stephanie Apstein reports that Cody Bellinger and the Yankees may have set a precedent with his new contract.
Rory McIlroy weighed in on whether the Players Championship should become a fifth major and made a bold suggestion for golf’s major calendar, Bob Harig writes.
Tom Gott breaks down the firing of Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank.
The new 2026 MLS season will have a different look as a wave of new jerseys has been released, Jamie Spencer writes.

The top five…

… things I saw yesterday:
5. A beautiful pass out of a double team by Karl-Anthony Towns.
4. Daniel Gafford’s emphatic block, followed by Cooper Flagg’s ferocious dunk.
3. Hannah Bilka’s one-timer for her second goal of the game in the U.S. women’s hockey team’s 5–0 blowout over Canada.
2. The court storming in Miami after the Hurricanes knocked off No. 11 North Carolina.
1. The viral video of Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Klæbo sprinting uphill.