Victor Wembanyama soars past LeBron James as face of NBA

We just watched the torch being passed from LeBron James to Victor Wembanyama in real time. 

Wembanyama is next.

He rubbed it in our faces. He made it impossible to second-guess. He all but etched his name on the metaphorical baton.

It happened in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Spurs and Thunder. The evening began with Wembanyama watching NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hand Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the MVP Award he coveted.

It ended with our jaws on the floor. 

Wembanyama had 41 points, 24 rebounds and three blocked shots in the Spurs’ 122-115 double-overtime win over the Thunder on Monday. He followed that by a 21-point, 17-rebound, six-assist and four-block performance in the Spurs’ 122-113 loss on Wednesday.

If anything, Wembanyama was underhyped when he was touted as the best prospect since James.

He’s not like anything we’ve seen before.

He was dominant in Game 2, constantly chasing down any missed shots with unreal timing. But Game 1 was his magnum opus. That was his official coming out party He made the reigning champions look vulnerable. He made Gilgeous-Alexander look like he pulled a fast one on MVP voters. 

Wembanyama was the human incarnation of opposing teams’ nightmares. 

The 7-foot-4 anomaly imposed his will everywhere. The paint belonged to him on both ends of the court. He was an unsolvable math problem for a Thunder team that had the NBA’s top-rated defense two straight seasons. 

But what makes Wembanyama especially dangerous is he isn’t chained by the typical restraints of big men. He can dribble. He has a soft touch. He defies the rules. 

Wembanyama transformed into Steph Curry in Game 1 with 27 seconds left in overtime and the Spurs trailing by three points, 108-105. He caught the ball just past half court. He fired a 28-foot 3-pointer. The ball swished through the net, forcing double overtime. 

Plays like that make you wonder about Wembanyama’s ceiling. What isn’t he capable of doing? If he stays healthy, could he soon nip at the heels of LeBron James and Michael Jordan? 

Then, in the second overtime, Wembanyama single-handedly outscored the Thunder, 9-7. He went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. He had as many rebounds (four) as the entire Thunder team. 

In the final minute of that period, Wembanyama was fouled on a made dunk and completed the three-point play. He made an alley-oop dunk. And he concluded his one-man symphony by blocking and grabbing a shot attempt by Jalen Williams. 

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said what impressed him most wasn’t even measurable. 

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“His level of physicality and execution through physicality was tremendous,” Johnson said. “His rebounding obviously showed in the box score, but what was off the charts was defensively, he was in his stance almost all night. That’s 49 big minutes, and it was high level for the majority of those.”

Wembanyama has said he wants to be the next face of the league. This season, he argued his case for the MVP Award, finishing third for that honor. He won Defensive Player of the Year. 

He wants this so bad. 

There’s nothing nonchalant about him. There’s nothing halfhearted. He’s all in, and he has the skills to be transformative. 

He didn’t even sugarcoat things when asked if Game 1 felt personal after he witnessed Gilgeous-Alexander receive the league’s most prestigious individual award.

“Yeah, for sure,” Wembanyama said. “Everything you just said.”

Watching Wembanyama is exciting for so many reasons. 

But above all, he’s this good — and he’s only 22 years old. He became the youngest person to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game on Monday. And on Wednesday, he had game-highs in rebounds and blocks while making three 3-pointers.

This is only the beginning. 

It feels as though we’re witnessing magic. We’re watching a masterpiece being painted in real time. 

We’re witnessing history. 

The 41-year-old James has made it clear he’s going to retire soon. But we can all breathe easy because the league has been handed over to a guy who’s going to take good care of it. 

He’s going to give it his all. 

And if everything goes as expected, he’s going to become one of the all-time greats.