Victor Wembanyama has been every bit the phenom he was billed to be since being drafted with the No. 1 pick in 2023, but until last night he’d been missing that signature game, the all-encapsulating display of his dominance.
Victor Wembanyama goes off, becomes youngest NBA center to score 50 points
Wemby is not human, but we already knew that.
Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Against the Wizards on Wednesday he did that and more, becoming the youngest center in NBA history to score 50 points in an absolutely stunning display of his three-level scoring, and unguardable potential when he’s on his game.
Shooting 18-of-29 from the field, and an astounding 8-of-16 from three, Wemby was an absolute nightmare for Washington every minute he was on the court. When he wasn’t draining shots from downtown he was pump-faking his man on the perimeter, before casually two-stepping into the lane for an easy finish.
Perhaps most astonishing about Wembanyama’s night was that he did all this in just 32 minutes. It was simply a case where the sophomore’s confidence in his perimeter shooting finally paid off after shooting an underwhelming 33.7 percent this season from beyond the arc entering the game against the Wizards.
The game set two records for Wemby. At 20 years and 314 days old he became the youngest center to score 50 points, beating Shaquille O’Neal who logged his first 50 point game at 22 years and 45 days. In addition he became the fourth youngest player of all time to score 50, only behind Brandon Jennings, LeBron James, and Devin Booker.
If Wembanyama’s three ball can fall anywhere like it did on Wednesday it’ll be the first of many big scoring night for the young man.
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