San Antonio Spurs’ center Victor Wembanyama scripted history during Game 1 of Round 2 of the NBA playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Wembanyama now has the most blocks in a playoff game in the history of the league with 12 blocks. There is no doubt about the fact that no player could come close to Wemby, but with every passing game, he has been proving why he absolutely deserved the Defensive Player of the Award for the 2025-26 season. After leading to his side in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2017, the young Frenchman has continued his dominant spell.

Now, he has become the first player to have the most blocks in a game, and the second player in the play-by-play era (1996-97) to record the most blocks in a half. The only player that has the most blocks in any postseason half is former NBA star Dwight Howard. Howard recorded eight blocks on April 18, 2010 with the Orlando Magic. Later in the fourth quarter, he made history by becoming the player with the most number of postseason blocks.

Though the Spurs fell short against the Timberwolves and suffered a narrow 104-102 loss, Wemby had a new playoff record by the end of the game. The 22-year-old finished the game with 11 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 12 blocks.

There’s a lot of things that he’s inspired me: Victor Wembanyama speaks highly of Rudy Gobert

Ahead of the game, Victor Wembanyama, standing tall at 7-foot-4, spoke highly of four-time Defensive Player of the Year. Wemby called him his inspiration and said that he aims to inspire more people himself. "As a role model, there’s lots of things that he’s inspired me and I think should inspire more people. In terms of taking care of your body, he should be a role model for all big men. It’s even more fun if we’re playing against Rudy, amazing for French basketball," said Wembanyama.

Notably, even before Wembanyama made it to the NBA, Gobert had been around him and helped him develop into one of the best defensive men in the league. It was the Timberwolves star’s mentoring that Wembanyama improved as a player despite having natural height and length. Notably, this is the first time that both big men are facing each other in the playoffs.

Both teams will now be up against each other in Game 2 on Wednesday, May 6 in San Antonio.