BBNBA Playoffs: Victor Wembanyama is the greatest basketball player of all time

Yes, this is a Kentucky website — but how can we not gush over Victor Wembanyama?

The alien-like Wembanyama made the basketball world stop spinning during his Game 1 performance on Monday night. He was nothing short of spectacular for the San Antonio Spurs, and it was anything but normal. 41 points, 24 rebounds, and three blocks in a 122-115 upset win over the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. We needed a pair of overtimes to finish this classic between the top two teams in the Western Conference. With all due respect to the teams out East, this is the NBA Finals.

And there is no doubt that Wemby came out with some extra juice in this one. Wemby finished third in MVP voting this season, losing out on the award to OKC star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who picked up his second straight honor on Sunday. SGA did not have a great game against the Spurs’ wealth of young and talented guards. Only 24 points on 7-23 shooting (plus 12 assists and five steals) is not going to cut it in this series. He played 51 minutes and was a -15. A bounce-back performance is likely on its way his next time out.

San Antonio didn’t even need De’Aaron Fox in this one. He was cheering in street clothes from the bench like a proud 28-year-old dad. An ankle issue currently has him sidelined. Reports are coming out that he could be back for Game 2 on Wednesday. Spurs forward Keldon Johnson kicked in 13 points on 4-9 shooting (3-6 3PT) for good measure. Thunder guard Cason Wallace tacked on eight points and six rebounds in his 28 minutes while Alex Caruso exploded for 31 points on 8-14 outside shooting, but none of it matters when no one (especially not Chet Holmgren on Monday) could slow down Wemby.

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WEMBY, WOW!

WHAT A SHOT TO TIE THE GAME AT 108. pic.twitter.com/HELQUpxww7
— NBA (@NBA) May 19, 2026

We’ve simply never seen a player like Wembanyama, one who can both drain pull-up three-pointers from several feet behind the line in crunch time and take two dribbles from outside the arc before throwing down dunks where his arms seem to extend into the gym rafters — all within a few-minute stretch, too. He had 14 total points in the extra periods. Every other play was deserving enough of a text to your basketball group chat.

“Are you SEEING this sh*t?”

“Get ready for another 20 years of this!”

“Why do I have to cheer James Harden instead of this guy???”

Wemby is only 22 years old. He somehow feels taller than 7-foot-5. He hasn’t won much in this league yet, but it’s coming. It might come in the next two months. It’s funny to joke about him being the best of all time already, like I did with this headline, but even his haters (does he have them yet?) know in the back of their minds that only an injury is going to bump this demigod off his path to being in a tier of his own. Labeling him a generational talent is beginning to feel like a slight. This is once-in-a-lifetime. Enjoy him. Game 2 on Wednesday should be electric.

Monday night’s stats

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)	122-115 L vs. SAS	24	7-23 (2-7)	3	12	5	1	4	-15	51
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	122-115 W @ OKC	13	4-9 (3-6)	0	0	0	0	1	3	21
Cason Wallace (OKC)	122-115 L vs. SAS	8	3-6 (2-5)	6	0	2	0	1	-9	28
De’Aaron Fox (SAS)	122-115 W @ OKC	DNP-Ankle	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—