In the NBA, there is no point in scoring, you have to finish on point! This is the fable of the prestigious American league, which offered a new example this night, to the advantage of the French number 1 of the last draft. Led the entire match with his San Antonio Spurs team traveling to Phoenix, Victor Wembanyama ended up scoring two decisive baskets which contributed to the surprise, crazy and completely unexpected victory of his team given the progress of the meeting, at a favorites for the title, the Suns (114-115). “Wemby” winner at “KD”, Kevin Durant, this player that the French basketball player has long admired and whose every video he has reviewed: it seems like a dream but it is reality for the French prodigy.
“I also felt this during my first match: on the floor, I sometimes find myself thinking that I am facing these players that I admired (against Dallas, he had faced two other stars , Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic), he confided after the meeting. But then I put that out of my head because that would be the best way for them to walk all over me the whole match. They are my opponents! »
We have to believe, given the very cold handshake that Durant gave to Wemby before the meeting, that the American star is on the same wavelength. The Frenchman arrives in the Suns room, on the occasion of Halloween, with the costume of Slender Man, this imaginary character whose name literally means “the slender man”. The face is completely hidden behind a white hood but everyone recognized Wembanyama’s 2.22 m height.
A camera follows KD into the locker room. “How does it feel to be Victor Wembanyama’s favorite player? », a voice asks. “That means I’m old!” », replies Durant straight away. At 35 years old, he is one of the best players in the history of the sport. And showed it for most of the 48 minutes of the match.
A high-flying duel
From the first seconds of the game, Durant snatches a ball from Wemby’s hands. The tone is set. The Suns player does not intend to fade behind the new French NBA star, whose highlights are seen millions of times and his performances break television audience records. At the end of the first quarter, KD attempts a first shot against Wemby. Too short. A few seconds later, again: this time, the double NBA champion (2007 and 2008) goes in, beating his opponent’s extraordinary trigger.
We had to wait until the very end of the first half to see Wemby gain the upper hand on Durant, erasing him with a quick move before going to viciously dunk on the head of Drew Eubanks, for his first basket of the game ! Former Indiana player Reggie Miller, sitting at the edge of the field to comment on the match on American TV, cannot believe his eyes and screams in all directions. However, it is meager for an entire first period.
At halftime, TNT star consultant Shaquille O’Neal weighs in: “Some people say they’ve never seen a player like Wembanyama,” Shaq said. Yes, of course, and his name is Bol Bol. » Named after this young Suns player, as tall as Wemby, perhaps as mobile but certainly not as gifted. And the Frenchman will little by little show it in the second half. In the fourth quarter, his favorite, he scored two three-point baskets which brought his team back to the score, although it had led by around twenty points for a long time. “He learns quickly,” notes his trainer Gregg Popovich. He had a much better second half. We just have to manage to make him gain confidence from the start of the match I guess! »
Victor Wembanyama continues his momentum: he scores a basket, with his back to the circle, with an almost casual gesture of the hand. Then he shows that he knows how to be decisive in the most important moments, in the last seconds: 4 points in the last moments, before the Spurs player, Keldon Johnson, recovers the ball in the hands of Kevin Durant and scores the last basket of the match, 1 second from a completely crazy end to the match.
This is the first time in the game that San Antonio takes the lead. The first time, but the good one. And Wemby still contributed greatly: second scorer on his team with 18 points (in 28 minutes on the floor), he also finished with 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, but also 5 turnovers, most of them in the first half. A lesson in efficiency, in a way, from the Frenchman to his master Kevin Durant, who scored a lot (26 points) but not in the moments that matter most.
