Victor Wembanyama Stuns Reigning Champs with 17 Points in 3 Minutes [WATCH]

Getty Victor Wembanyama celebrates with teammates after defeating the Denver Nuggets on April 12.

Excitement is a hard thing to find when you’re watching a sub.500 team in mid-April. Unless you’re watching Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.

In their second to last game of the former first overall pick’s rookie season, they pulled off an upset victory over Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, the NBA’s reigning champs.

Wembanyama finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a steal.

But for three of those 36 minutes, he was playing on a level above everyone else on the court. Yes, even Jokic, the two-time MVP.

Wembanyama scored 17 points during a three-minute span in the third quarter, putting the Spurs within reach.

Victor Wembanyama is OUT OF THIS WORLD 🤯

He scored 1⃣7⃣ PTS in just 3 MINUTES 😳

They would go on to win the game in the final moments. Point guard Devonte Graham secured the victory with a go-ahead floater to put San Antonio up one with 30 seconds remaining.

Devonté Graham comes up CLUTCH for the @spurs win! 🗣️

For the Spurs and Wembanyama, it’s more foreshadowing of what’s to come. The 20-year-old star is just scratching the surface.

His rookie season has been unlike any other. It’s being recognized as one of the greatest ever.

Wembanyama Had a ‘Rookie Season for the Ages’

With one game remaining, Victor Wembanyama is averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game.

That in and of itself is almost unprecedented.

In an April 13 column for Bleacher Report, Bryan Toporek tackled the challenge of ranking the greatest rookie seasons of all time. Wembanyama came in fifth on his rankings.

“The 7’4″ big man is one of only four rookies since the NBA/ABA merger to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks per game,” Toporek wrote. “Joining Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson and Alonzo Mourning. None of those three came close to Wembanyama’s 3.8 assists per game, and that isn’t even the biggest thing differentiating him from that trio.”

The changing of the times and the game has put Wembanyama in a tier of his own.

“Wembanyama is one of only six players in NBA history—not just rookies, players of all ages—to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks per game,” Toporek continued. “Add in his three-point shooting, and he’s already accomplishing something that had never been done prior to this season.”

Fact: The NBA has never seen a player like Victor Wembanyama.

Also fact: San Antonio should waste no time in putting a team around him this offseason. At 20 years old, Wembanyama’s talent is LeBron James-like. It commands the best possible effort by his front office.

There’s one available star who would be a perfect match for Wembanyama’s skillset, and the Spurs’ need to improve, even if only marginally next season.

Trae Young to the Spurs?

No player seems a better fit for San Antonio and Wembanyama than Trae Young.

Howard Beck reported on February 12 that a deal had already been discussed between the Atlanta Hawks and Spurs before this season’s trade deadline.

“One exec said Atlanta discussed a potential Young trade with San Antonio before last week’s deadline,” Beck wrote. “The Hawks were also well known to be shopping Dejounte Murray, their other star guard, before the deadline, but never found a deal they liked. It’s considered a near certainty that they will part with one, or both, this summer.”

Young, averaging 26 points and 10.8 assists per game, would help open up the offense for a rising Wembanyama. And think of all the lobs!

Wembanyama, along with the Spurs scheme, should help to cover up Young’s defensive inabilities. The point guard could blend into the backdrop on defense while playing Robin to Wembanyama’s Batman on offense.

The contracts of Graham and Keldon Johnson make the math work in any potential trade, according to Fanspo’s trade machine.

Additionally, San Antonio has six first-round picks over the next two years. That includes one 2025 swap with the Hawks, as part of the Dejounte Murray deal in 2022.

The Atlanta Hawks’ asking price for Trae Young remains to be reported.

But as it stands, the San Antonio Spurs have the assets to get a deal done.

Following a night where Victor Wembanyama scored 17 points in three minutes, it’s clearer than ever that his ceiling is out of sight, non-existent. Will the San Antonio Spurs capitalize on it this offseason?