MIES (Switzerland) - One might think that there's not much more Victor Wembanyama can do to amaze us anymore at this point.
Then, on a random Wednesday night in November, he comes out and scores an NBA career-high 50 points on 8 made three-pointers (also an NBA career-high) on 29 attempts. He played a total of 32 minutes in this game, though he reached the 50-point plateau in just 26 minutes of action.
🔥 NBA Career-high 50 PTS 🔥 NBA Career-high 8 3PM 🔥 Fourth-youngest player in NBA to score 50 🔥 First Spurs player with 50+ PTS and 5+ 3PM
We really shouldn't be surprised. After all, Wemby was named the FIBA Rising Star at the Paris 2024 Olympics this past summer after averaging 15.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and an efficiency rating of 20.8 per game for silver medalists France.
Playing with the National Team made him a better player - Rudy Gobert
"Playing in the Olympics with the National Team taught him a lot," explained Rudy Gobert last week after facing Wemby. "FIBA basketball is a game with less spacing, where the refs allow more physical contact, especially away from the ball, and I think this experience has pushed him, challenged him, and made him a better player. Of course, he's still very young, but you can already see he's handling contact better and is ready to face any kind of physicality."
In the gold medal game in Paris, Wemby also scored a FIBA career-high of 26 points.
This game was the third straight with at least six made threes for the French player. A rare feat in the history of the NBA and an exceptional one for someone his size.
A kind reminder that Wembanyama will only be turning 21 in January, so most of what we're seeing is just scratching the surface of his full potential.
FIBA