Victor Wembanyama played 49 minutes in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday night and finished with 41 points, 24 rebounds and three blocks as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in double overtime.
According to CBS Sports, only two other players in NBA history have posted a 40-point, 20-rebound, three-block line in the conference finals or later: Shaquille O'Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. When the actual totals from Wembanyama's box score are applied beyond the round numbers, only Wilt Chamberlain comes up as a comparable.
The performance that drew the most attention came late in the first overtime period. With San Antonio trailing by three points and fewer than 30 seconds remaining, Wembanyama pulled up from beyond halfcourt and made the shot to tie the game. The Spurs went on to win in a second overtime.
The shot was not an isolated moment. Through the 2026 postseason, Wembanyama had made 15 three-pointers entering Game 1. CBS Sports research found that the six other players in NBA history to average 20 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for a postseason combined to make three three-pointers total in those runs. Those players include Hakeem Olajuwon, who accomplished it three times, along with Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Elvin Hayes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parish.
Wembanyama's postseason averages through the Western Conference Finals opener stood at 22.2 points, 11.9 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game. The player he was most directly compared to Monday night was Chamberlain, a player whose prime predates most living fans and whose statistical footprint has rarely been approached in the decades since.
At 7 feet 4 inches tall, Wembanyama's combination of interior force and perimeter shooting separates him from the historical big men he is now being measured against. Shaquille O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Duncan and Abdul-Jabbar were each dominant forces near the basket, but none carried anything close to Wembanyama's three-point range as part of their game.
Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals between the Spurs and Thunder is scheduled to follow later this week.
