SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama appeared poised to claim his place at the top.
After securing his position as the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, he went on to be named the unanimous Western Conference Finals MVP. This accolade came after he led his team to a victory over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the two-time MVP, and the current champion Thunder in a thrilling Game 7 showdown in Oklahoma City.
At just 22 years old, Wembanyama has been celebrated as the world’s premier basketball player.
Yet, in the opening two matches of the NBA Finals, he has not stood out as the top-performing big man on the court.
While his stats are impressive, with an average of 27.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks, Wembanyama has found it challenging to create easy scoring opportunities against Karl-Anthony Towns. His shooting percentages reflect these struggles, with a 40.5 percent success rate from the field and just 26.7 percent from beyond the arc.
On the other end, Towns (19.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 55.6 percent shooting, 42.9 percent on 3-pointers) has repeatedly dragged the Spurs star away from the rim and blown past him off the dribble.
“It’s very different from [the] previous series,” Wembanyama said after the 105-104 loss in Game 2. “It’s bringing us into difficult areas because they’re good players. [Towns is] a good player.
“We need to put ourselves in better [positions]. We’re digging ourselves a hole. That’s been the theme so far.”
In Game 1, the Spurs blew a 14-point second-half lead, as Wembanyama was 6-for-21 shooting.
In Game 2, the 7-foot-4 phenom led an incredible fourth-quarter comeback and scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half, but he finished with two misses in the final 30 seconds — including the potential game-winner before the buzzer — and an inexcusable turnover and foul that set Jalen Brunson up for the go-ahead free throw with 9.5 seconds remaining.
“That’s the most frustrating thing, to throw it away after putting in all this work,” said Wembanyama, who admitted to feeling “blurry” in the final minute. “Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that to fuel me and to fuel us next game? Absolutely.”
Wembanyama’s chance for redemption comes Monday in the most anticipated game at Madison Square Garden this century.
He needs a win to avoid the death sentence of a 3-0 series deficit, which no team has recovered from in NBA history.
The 1995 Magic were the last team to lose the first two games of the NBA Finals at home, led by a generational 23-year-old center who would eventually earn four rings and three Finals MVP awards.
But before Shaquille O’Neal claimed the crown, he would endure the embarrassment of a sweep against Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets on the sport’s biggest stage.
“I mean, here we are,” Wembanyama said. “We can’t change the past now. We’re already focused on Game 3.”