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Wembanyama Breaks NBA Playoff Blocks Record in Game 1 Against Timberwolves

The Spurs' superstar shot blocker became the first player to swat 11 shots in a playoff game since the NBA started tracking blocks in the 1973-74 season.
Tom Petrini|
May 4, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) shoots against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) in the first half during game one of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images
May 4, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) shoots against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) in the first half during game one of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

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San Antonio Spurs

SAN ANTONIO -- Maybe the Timberwolves got used to playing the defensively-challenged Nuggets.

Maybe the news of Victor Wembanyama's shot-blocking prowess has not yet reached Minnesota (though that seems unlikely).

Whatever the reason, the Timberwolves kept trying, over and over again, to attack the rim against Wembanyama in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. And over and over again, Wembanyama launched that weak stuff toward the sea of fiesta-clad fans.

Tim Duncan held the Spurs' franchise record for blocks in a playoff game with nine. Wembanyama logged seven... in the first half. Initially credited with eight in the opening half, that would have tied a 2010 Dwight Howard performance for the most blocks by a player in any half of a playoff game since the beginning of the play-by-play era.

Wemby got the shot blocking started on the first play of the game, then his countryman and fellow Defensive Player of the Year winner Rudy Gobert answered. Wembanyama responded with a chase-down block on the next play.

A little later on, burly big man Julius Randle tried his luck and came up with snake eyes. The ball came back to him, and with a goldfish-like memory he tried his luck again. After being stuffed once more, it's possible that Randle realized it was less about luck and more about the 7-foot-5 alien from outer space.

Some on the internet wailed that a few of these blocks were actually "fouls" or "goaltends," whatever that means. Even if one or two of these swats fell short of the legal standard, it speaks to the respect Wemby has earned from the officials that they kept their whistles holstered. Maybe the Star Wars fan used a Jedi mind trick on May the Fourth.

In the second half Wembanyama picked up right where he left off. Jaden McDaniels wisely spun away from the big fella's help defense, but Wembanyama just took an extra-long step and used his extra-long arm to stuff it anyway.

Two blocks later, Wembanyama surpassed Duncan's Spurs record and tied the all-time NBA record of 10 held by Hakeem Olajuwon, Mark Eaton and Andrew Bynum.

Despite the defensive pyrotechnics by Wembanyama, the Timberwolves fought hard and kept things close for the entire contest. In the fourth quarter of a one-point game, Anthony Edwards split the defense and went for the layup with Wemby on the weak side.

The alien smashed it off the window leading to a Spurs bucket in transition, and with his eleventh block he left Olajuwon, Eaton and Bynum behind.

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Tom Petrini
TOM PETRINI

Tom Petrini has covered Spurs basketball for the last decade, first for Project Spurs and then for KENS 5 in San Antonio. After leaving the newsroom he co-founded the Silver and Black Coffee Hour, a weekly podcast where he catches up on Spurs news with friends Aaron Blackerby and Zach Montana. Tom lives in Austin with his partner Jess and their dogs Dottie and Guppy. His other interests include motorsports and making a nice marinara sauce.

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