Victor Wembanyama Strengthens Case To Be the Best Player in the World

Drew Thirion|published: Tue 19th May, 09:56 2026

May 18, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) dunks the ball in the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder during game one of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

This past week, I was talking with some buddies, and a guy said that Victor Wembanyama is a better basketball player than any version of Tim Duncan. The rest of the group and I, of course, laughed this off, as Duncan is the greatest power forward of all time, and can easily find himself in conversations for being a top-5 player of all time.

Unfortunately, I can’t stop thinking about this conversation and how he might be right.

The Spurs pulled off a massive win in game one, taking a double-overtime victory 122-115. More importantly than just winning the game, Wemby put up a Wilt Chamberlain-esque stat line, dropping 41 points, 24 rebounds, and three blocks. One glance at the stat sheet shows how dominant a performance this was; however, the eye test was far more important in this one.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took home his second MVP this week and was also the clutch player of the year. At no point in this game did he look like the most valuable player on the court, and at times even looked scared.

Devin Vassell and the young Spurs guards deserve a lot of credit for slowing down SGA, but at the end of the day, most of that came from Wemby. Shai has been one of the best players in the world at getting to the hoop, but he looked insanely uncomfortable on drives. You have to live with Wembanyama blocking a few shots; he has to be more aggressive at finding his shot as this series progresses.

Everyone knows that Wemby might be the greatest defensive player of all time, but he’s at a level offensively that we haven’t ever seen.

Down three points with under 30 seconds left in OT, Wemby decided to take his second three of the night from the logo, and he buried it. Turn away, Thunder fans.

That shot made me think of Steph Curry back in 2016 pulling from the logo to take down OKC at the Paycom Center.

Curry’s shot was unbelievable, but this was a 7-foot-4 center who had nine offensive rebounds pulling up from half court.

We are reaching a boiling point with Wemby.

I think we might be watching the best player in the world, and if he can manage to win a title… There are going to be some uncomfortable conversations to be had for the most talented player to ever step on a basketball court.

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