By CNN
—
And just like that, in double quick time, Victor Wembanyama recorded his first NBA triple double.
The 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick’s landmark moment came on Wednesday as the San Antonio Spurs dominated the Detroit Pistons on the road, 130-108.
The French phenom scored 16 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out 10 assists without turning the ball over once as he became the youngest center in NBA history to have a triple double, per StatMuse.
‘Wemby’ also joined former MVP Russell Westbrook as the only player in the past 40 seasons to post a triple double while playing under 22 minutes.
“Doing it in a win is everything, of course,” Wembanyama told the media after the game. “It matters to me. I’m not the type to talk for nothing. This is the kind of statement we want to make as a team, and this is type of statement I want to make as a player.”
One of his highlights included a spectacular one-handed, full-court pass to Jeremy Sochan as he recorded a career-high assist total.
“He’s just a very good passer,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. “He was a good passer before he got here.”
San Antonio, having lost its previous five games, got back in the win column against an equally struggling Pistons side. Coming into Wednesday’s matchup, the two teams shared a dismal 8-64 combined record on the season.
The Pistons recently tied the NBA record for the longest losing streak at 28 games – the skid was snapped against the Toronto Raptors on December 30, but Detroit has now lost six straight since then.
The Pistons had the worst record in the league last season and were one of the favorites to land Wembanyama, but fell to the fifth pick in the draft lottery and missed out on the Frenchman as a result.
“It’s weird to imagine a different future and what it could have been,” Wembanyama said when asked if an alternate start to his NBA career with Detroit had crossed his mind. “I’m glad it is the way it is though.”
Wembanyama’s history-making night was part of an incredibly balanced scoring output for the Spurs. Eight players notched double figures, with Keldon Johnson leading the way with 17 points off the bench and Devin Vassell also putting up 16.
Center Jalen Duren scored 21 points and had 12 rebounds for the Pistons while Bojan Bogdanović and Jaden Ivey each had 19 but it was not enough to provide the NBA’s statistically worst team with their fourth win of the season.
Detroit, playing without its injured star point guard Cade Cunningham, failed to outscore San Antonio in a single quarter.
Both sides likely already have one eye on this year’s draft lottery after a poor first half of the season – the Spurs are now 6-30 after the much-needed victory, while the Pistons fell to 3-35.
Each team is in action again on Friday, with San Antonio hosting the Charlotte Hornets and Detroit taking on the Houston Rockets at home.
