Victor Wembanyama Is Making Every Opponent Look Silly With His Historic Start to Season

Victor Wembanyama has put up some absurd statlines in the first 11 games of the season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I’m sure you’ll be shocked to learn that Victor Wembanyama did something utterly ridiculous again last night.

The Spurs superstar is making a career out of showing us that the impossible is very much possible for him. His normal is mind-boggling. His spectacular? Near-incomprehensible. On Monday night he showed us the heights that lay within reach of his enormous wingspan at any given time.

• NEXT: NBA Championship Power Rankings: While Thunder Fall Off, Two Teams Stand Above the Rest

In a thorough 122-96 drubbing of the Suns, Wembanyama racked up 40 points on 15-for-19 shooting—his third time hitting 40 points through 11 games. He drained two of his three attempts from deep, shot 80% from the line and pulled down 11 rebounds without breaking a sweat. Wemby dominated defensively, as is his wont, finishing with nine blocks on the night. San Antonio outscored Phoenix by a whopping 30 points with him on the floor.

And now for the kicker: the French superstar did all that in 25 minutes, 21 seconds of playing time.

Outrageous.

WEMBY POSTS 40+ POINTS, 10+ REBOUNDS AND 8+ BLOCKS FOR THE SECOND TIME IN A WEEK 🤯

👽 40 PTS (15-19 FGM)
👽 11 REB
👽 9 BLK

He joins Kareem and the Admiral as the only players since 1973-74 with multiple 40/10/8 games... and NO ONE has done so in only 25 minutes. pic.twitter.com/QXQv7488ds

— NBA (@NBA) November 10, 2026

As noted above, it’s the second time in five days Wembanyama hit the 40-point, 10-rebound, eight-block mark. Most fans would be astonished to see that once a generation. This guy did it twice over the span of one work week!

It was something of a rocky start to his fourth campaign but Wembanyama found his footing and every night is an opportunity to make his opponent look downright foolish for attempting to stop him. The star center is scoring better than ever inside the arc without relying too heavily on his deep shot and continues to learn how to leverage his unprecedented gravity into opportunities for himself and his teammates.

It’s all translating to gaudy wins and even gaudier statlines; Wembanyama’s season averages now come in at 30.1 points, 11.9 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per night. The Spurs sit comfortably with the second-best record in the West. He’s made history in the process and it’s intimidating to consider what might be in store as the season goes on.

Wembanyama’s historic start is unlike anything we’ve ever seen

Wembanyama does things we’ve never seen on the basketball court because he is physically unlike any player in history as a 7’4” behemoth with the skillset of a point guard. Over his first three seasons he slowly learned how to translate all that talent into production, and when it all clicked he’d put up some laughable numbers.

Now in his fourth campaign, Wemby is experienced enough that every night holds the possibility for history. As noted by NBA PR after last night’s display, prior to last week, there had only been eight games since 1973 where a single player recorded at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks in a game. Wembanyama added to that list twice in five days. And his ability to do so in such limited minutes is the most ridiculous part of all!

Of the eight other players to record such a line since blocks became an official stat, Wembanyama needed fewer time to do it than anybody else. His 52-point, 24-rebound, nine-block masterpiece on Nov. 4 took 34 minutes. Monday night’s took 25. All eight other instances of those numbers required the player in question to suit up for at least 38 minutes and most required well over 40.

When it’s all said and done, this might be Wemby’s superpower. Not just gobbling up points, rebounds and blocks with legendary greed—but doing so in stunningly few minutes. After three 40-point games this season, the Spurs star is now one of two players in history to have five 40-point performances in which he played fewer than 40 minutes, along with the singular Steph Curry. It seems very likely he’ll become the first to have six such games, and perhaps quite soon.

It’s all just absurd no matter which lens you view it through. Wembanyama is a gale opponents can only hope to weather but not stop. And nobody has a prayer of beating the Spurs if their star player is averaging well over a point per minute on the court.

It feels like this is Wembanyama’s first real heater as a fully formed superstar. The result is nine straight San Antonio wins and counting. Breathtaking stuff from the league’s most uniquely dominant figure.

---

Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.