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In a historic night at the AT&T Center on Friday, San Antonio Spurs star rookie Victor Wembanyama dropped a career-high 40 points with 20 rebounds and became the first NBA rookie in 31 years since legendary Shaquille O'Neal to drop a 40-point and 20-rebound game. With his historic numbers, the 7-foot-4 French star led the Spurs to an overtime victory against the New York Knicks, despite Jalen Brunson scoring 61 points.
The home side opened the game on a high note and took an 11-point lead in the first quarter and improved their lead to 17 points at the end of the first half. The Knicks came up big in the third quarter as they outscored the Spurs 34-20 and eventually forced the game into overtime, where San Antonio clinched the game by four points.
During the 130-126 win for the Spurs, star center Wembanyama notched up a historic figure of 40 points, 20 rebounds, and 7 assists, while shooting 13-off-22 from the field, and 4/9 from 3-point range. With this performance, the 20-year-old big man became the first rookie with a 40/20 game since Shaquille O'Neal's 46 points, and 21 rebounds on February 16, 1993.
Watch Wembanyama's clutch 3 for 40 points:
With a win against the Knicks, the Spurs extended their winning streak to three games and will next host Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors on Sunday in the 2023-24 NBA regular season.