In a series that started with his opponent winning a trophy Wemby was contending for, the Spurs’ young leader again proved no pressure was too great.
SAN ANTONIO — Add another trophy to the mantle.
In a year that netted him his first NBA Defensive Player of the Year accolade, along with an All-Star nod and First Team honors, the Alien’s superstardom reached new galactic heights as he was named Western Conference Finals MVP.
He averaged 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game in the triumphant series, which went a full seven games against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. He also had 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals game for good measure while shooting 48.1% from the field and 40% from 3.
His 41-point, 24-rebound performance in Game 1 was historic in its own right. But as has so often been the case in this ongoing season and playoff run: When Wembanyama is a force on the court, the Spurs are practically a basketball supernova.
That happened consistently on the court this series, with Wembanyama never finishing with fewer than 20 points. He also became the first player in NBA history with at least 15 3-pointers and 15 blocks in a playoff series.
“This feeling, I can’t explain it,” he said on the NBC broadcast upon winning the conference MVP honor. “It’s so powerful… everybody stepped up tonight.”
After the game, his teammates attested to how Wemby’s on-court prowess is a reflection of his off-court preparation, as well as the way he’s evolved as a leader for the team’s young core that continues to disprove the benefits of previous playoff experience.
“No matter what the circumstances, he’s always gonna work his tail off,” Dylan Harper said. “What we see on the court is what I see every day, times 10.”
“We follow his lead.”
Wembanyama has faced his fair share of adversity in his first NBA playoffs, with new challenges awaiting every series.
Against the Trail Blazers he missed the better part of two whole games when he suffered a concussion early in Game 2. He returned in Game 4 to score 27 points and grab 12 boards.
Against the Timberwolves, he was ejected for the first time in his NBA career after notching a flagrant foul for an errant swing of an elbow now found on fans’ custom T-shirts all over the Alamo City. In the next game, he scored 27 points and pulled down 17 rebounds.
And against the Thunder, Wembanyama played 49 Game 1 minutes – the most in his NBA career for any game – and continued to be a leader for a team that never went more than a full day between matchups in the Western Conference Finals battle that went the distance.
When he was on the floor in the series, the Spurs outscored the Thunder by 62.
“He has such a vision, in my opinion, of who he wants to be as a person and as a player,” head coach Mitch Johnson said. “The commitment and the investment he puts into that vision is like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
Lifting the Western Conference Finals MVP over his head proved a poetic ending to a series that started with Wembanyama looking on from the bench as Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was awarded regular-season MVP honors.
As for his next challenge, Wembanyama left no doubt about his motivations.
“You work all these hours we put in, it’s for these types of emotions,” Wembanyama said. “I want to win so bad. It’s like my life depends on it.”