Spurs star Victor Wembanyama’s underwhelming NBA Finals debut still reaches Shaq, Hakeem histroic level

The San Antonio Spurs dropped Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday evening with a tough 105-95 home loss to the New York Knicks. The Spurs now trail 0-1 in the series and face what is essentially a must-win situation for Game 2 on Friday night.

This was overall a rough game from superstar Victor Wembanyama, who scored 26 points but shot just 6-21 from the field and 2-9 from the three, also turning the ball over six times.

Still, despite that poor stat line, Wemby still found a way to etch his name into NBA Finals history with his debut.

“Wembanyama finished with a team-high 26 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, becoming the fourth player since blocks became official (1974) to achieve that line in their Finals debut. The 22-year-old joined Shaquille O’Neal (1995), Hakeem Olajuwon (1986) and Elvin Hayes (1975),” reported Michael C. Wright of ESPN.

It certainly speaks volumes about Wembanyama’s prowess that he was able to reach such a milestone despite having what was widely regarded as a poor game, at least by his standards.

On defense, Wemby did a strong job of deterring the Knicks around the rim and largely keeping them on the perimeter, although he did bite too heavily on a couple of Karl-Anthony Towns pump fakes that opened up driving lanes.

Offensively, the star Frenchman looked like a deer in headlights at times, especially toward the end of the game, as he committed a crucial unforced turnover with about a minute to go, after which Jalen Brunson put the game on ice with a tough jumper.

Wembanyama has had a couple of subpar games so far this postseason, and has always found a way to bounce back thus far. He’ll hope to do the same thing in Game 2 on Friday night.

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