Wemby Gives Math Lesson, Discusses Merits and Flaws of 65-Game Rule

SAN ANTONIO - In game 81 of the season, Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama still found a way to surprise the assembled press.

He scored 40 points in just 26 minutes, the aesthetics of which were even more absurd than the raw statistical output. When his teammate Carter Bryant asked him postgame if he got 40, the big man nodded and scrunched his face into a hilarious and meme-able reaction.

🤨 pic.twitter.com/6PKKdnX1sO
— San Antonio Spurs - x (@spurs) April 11, 2026

As impressive as the on-court performance was, it shocked nobody that the 7-foot-5 MVP candidate put up numbers and highlights in what could be the final game of his spectacular regular season. It also didn't drop any jaws when he spoke honestly about his award candidacy and the 65-game minimum that hung over his head right up until he reached 20 minutes played on Friday night. That kind of honesty is rare from an athlete in his postition, but has become commonplace from him.

The thing that left a gaggle of reporters mesmerized was that after his 40-point performance and during his discussion of awards eligibility, he switched on his brain calculator and began multiplying double-digit integers.

Asked by Spurs on SI for his thoughts on the 65-game minimum that almost kept him from his first Defensive Player of the Year award and will likely prevent Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham and Luka Doncic from being recognized for their spectacular seasons, Wembanyama turned it into an interactive discussion and a math lesson.

“Let me ask you a question”

Victor Wembanyama was asked about his thoughts on the 65-game rule

He shared them, and asked for ours, and did a good deal of mental math that made my stupid head spin pic.twitter.com/0qJkKei8em
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) April 11, 2026

"It's a very interesting question," Wembanyama said. "If those three aren't - I mean, especially Cade and Luka, if they aren't in the season awards, for sure it's not going to reflect their impact on the season, but at the same time, in my opinion, it's good to have the threshold limit. Where do we need to put it? It's a good question. Let me ask y'all a question: what percentage of the season right now, without calculating how much 65 is, what percentage of the season do you think?"

A variety of answers came back from the reporters.

"75, 80."

"Two thirds."

"Academic, 70% passing."

"If the guy's had an impact he's had an impact."

Wembanyama listened to them all, and particularly liked the last one. Then he did some mental math to show how the 65-game rule may have some gaps.

"I think that's a good way to put it, because if a guy plays 50 games, 35 minutes a game that's 50 times 35 that's 1750 right?" Wembanyama said after a brief calculation. "And if a guy plays 75 games at 20 minutes, it's 1500. It's a good view, in my opinion, to not have a limit. It's one opinion. 75% of the games, my opinion, would be a logical thing, and that would be 61.5 games, right? So 62 games."

All of that math was correct. If his regular season is over, Wemby will finish with 64 games at 29.2 minutes per game for 1866 total minutes. Doncic, Cunningham, Edwards, Nikola Jokic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have all played well over 2100 minutes on the year, a fact that will likely ding Wembanyama's MVP case.

We know that Wembanyama uses his still-elastic 22-year-old brain for stuff other than basketball. He reads, and plays chess, and of course as an alien has an interest in space travel.

I used to be smarter than a fifth grader and even won some math competitions back in school, but many great brain cells have died heroically since then. Nowadays my mind is basically only good for discussing basketball and riffing with my buddies, like that episode of SpongeBob where he forgets everything except fine dining and breathing. The other day I saw a calculus equation and it triggered a fight-or-flight response. I put my fists up before I thought better of it and ran.

Perhaps it's an indictment of the American education system that so many of us were so impressed by his fairly simple arithmetic that it felt like he was from another planet. We reacted as though he had pulled a live dove out of a top hat and then sawed his assistant in half.

The math itself doesn't require an advanced degree. It's the fact that this elite athlete sat up at the podium after a huge game, furrowed his brow and solved several equations just because he felt like it. Nobody was surprised that he put up the fastest game with 40 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in NBA history. Nobody expected him to do 50 times 35 off the dome.

40 PTS, 13 REB, 5 AST for @wemby tonight 👽 pic.twitter.com/ZKld7XUDBC
— San Antonio Spurs - x (@spurs) April 11, 2026

Here's some math that even this humble wordsmith can do without a calculator:

If there are 82 regular season games and Victor needs to play in 65 to qualify for awards like MVP, All NBA and Defensive Player of the Year, how many can he miss?

82-65=17

Victor misses half of his team's first 24 games with a calf injury, but plays in an exhibition (the NBA Cup Final) that gives him one extra game toward the minimum. How many more can he miss in the remaining 70% of the season?

1+17-(24/2)=6

Victor scored 40 points in game number 64 of the regular season, giving him exactly 1600 for the year. How many points did he average per game?

1600/64=25.0

Last year a blood clot ended Wemby's season and turned his world upside down. This year he had to walk a tightrope to get to this point where he's allowed to be recognized for his achievements. Wembyanyama admitted after the game that he probably wouldn't have played in this one if he'd already met the 65-game minimum. Part of the math this season was calculating and managing risk, and on that front as well, the math was flawless.

"It means a lot, a lot more than people know, coming back from a terrible place a little bit over a year ago, and if I'm here today, it's because of all the people that have allowed me to work through this and get better and all the work that we've put in all year long," Wembanyama said. "I wouldn't be able to do what I've done this season if I hadn't worked so hard in the summer."

"Tremendous amount of work, lots and lots of talks with the medical staff, lots of figuring out the best plan," Wembanyama said. "More I would say than any year in my career, mental work to be able to play through pain or discomfort, but we made it."