RJ Hamster
SI:AM | Wemby Shines in All-Time Thriller vs. OKC
DAN GARTLAND
Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. It’s Victor Wembanyama’s fault I couldn’t write about an overtime Game 7 in the NHL playoffs or a no-hit bid that ended in heartbreak.
In today’s SI:AM:
🏴☠️ Pirates’ other young star
🏈 Texas Tech changes course on gambling
Wemby’s best game yet
Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images
That was one of the best basketball games you’ll ever see.
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs prevailedover the reigning champion Thunder in double overtime last night in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, 122–115. Wembanyama finished with a preposterous 41 points and 24 rebounds.
Wemby’s gaudy box score stats can come close to telling the full story of his nightly dominance. Look at his Basketball Reference page, and you can track his development as a player, gradually but consistently becoming a more efficient scorer, a more reliable rebounder and an elite defender. Seeing that he put up 41 and 24 is enough to make it clear that he’s already an all-time great, but watching him do it is a transcendent experience.
Seeing Wembanyama block a midrange jumper while standing in the paint, collect a rebound over an opponent while standing flat-footed or effortlessly put home a lobmakes you wonder how long it’ll be before we all agree that he’s the best player in the league. We’ve never seen a player capable of doing all the different things Wemby can. He’s like a combination of Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin Durant. CONTINUE DAN’S COLUMN ON SI
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Konnor Griffin goes to church every Sunday. He does not curse. He calls his parents every night. He married his eighth-grade sweetheart in January at 19. Here’s Tom Verducci on the highest-paid player in Pirates history, who is also perhaps the world’s oldest 20-year-old.
- There is a new contender for the best pitchin baseball. Verducci explains why one off-speed pitch has positioned Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez as an early NL Cy Young contender.
- Chris Mannix reports on Victor Wembanyama’s apparent motivation for his 41-point masterpiece in Game 1: watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander receive the MVP trophy
- OTAs and mandatory minicamps will determine some of the biggest upcoming roster decisions for NFC teams. Matt Verderame breaks down all 16 rosters.
- Recent championship success has given the Big Ten conference swagger, which Bryan Fischer says is leading its power players to speak louder about what they want.
- Texas Tech has seemed to reverse its stance against betting to support quarterback Brendan Sorsby to get back to the field this fall, Pat Forde writes.
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Zach Beeker/Getty Images
👀 The top five …
… moments from that epic Spurs-Thunder game:
5. Victor Wembanyama’s dunk through two defenders.
4. Alex Caruso’s emphatic block from behind. (Caruso would have been the main story if the Thunder had pulled off the win. He had 31 points off the bench for OKC.)
3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s jumper over the outstretched arm of Wembanyama for clutch bucket late in the fourth.
2. Chet Holmgren’s block on Wembanyama at the end of regulation.
1. Wemby’s long three-pointer to tie the game late in the first overtime.
📹 The top five …
Conor Orr and Albert Breer break down the Steelers’ signing of Aaron Rodgers for one more year and what has changed since the last time he was coached by Mike McCarthy. They also discuss the NFL’s plans to expand further internationally and what a Super Bowl in Nashville might look like in the latest episode of the MMQB.
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