Victor Wembanyama calls Joel Embiid’s career night ‘inspiring’ following first matchup
PHILADELPHIA — As Victor Wembanyama warmed up about 45 minutes before his first game inside the Wells Fargo Center, one spectator held up a sign that said “MVP vs. Potential MVP.”
It was a perfect descriptor for how an unforgettable Monday night would unfold. The San Antonio Spurs’ 7-foot-4 rookie sensation totaled 33 points on 10-of-19 shooting and added seven rebounds against the 76ers, a terrific outing under virtually any other circumstances.
But Joel Embiid reminded everybody in the building that the right-now, reigning MVP resides in Philly.
In the best statistical performance of his career, Embiid scored a franchise-record 70 points (Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 came with the Philadelphia Warriors) and added 18 rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes of a 133-123 victory. Wembanyama got an up-close look while guarding Embiid for much of the night, calling the offensive masterclass “inspiring” in perhaps the most prominent NBA educational experience so far in a debut season full of them.
“It would have been a little bit more fun in a win, of course,” Wembanyama said of going against Embiid. " … A few years back, it was more a guard’s game. But now, it’s come back to a big man’s game. … We’ve got some guys all around the league who can do a lot of stuff, despite being very tall.”
“Wemby” buzz permeated the arena leading up to tip-off. During his news conference, Sixers coach Nick Nurse said he had watched an assortment of Wembanyama clips as a “crash course” in where he looked most comfortable getting the ball. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich spoke glowingly about how Wembanyama had adjusted to NBA physicality despite his slender frame, and the gradual process of learning the playing style that most fits him at this level.
Yet when asked specifically about the matchup with Embiid, Popovich boisterously joked, “We’re gonna hammer his [expletive]!”
“I told Wemby, ‘Put your butt right in his stomach, back him down over the rim, and just throw him through the rim,’ ” Popovich continued, drawing laughter from the assembled media. “That’s what you should look for tonight. Don’t tell Wemby I said that.”
When Wembanyama jogged out of the visitors’ tunnel for his pregame shooting routine, children draped jerseys over the railing in hopes of getting a Sharpie scribble. Hundreds of surrounding fans of all ages pulled out their cell phones to capture photos and video — including radio play-by-play voice Tom McGinnis, who has been broadcasting Sixers games for nearly three decades. As the Spurs huddled outside their locker room before taking the court for tip-off, one ROTC member preparing for the national anthem gawked, “He’s taller than the flag.”
And as Embiid, who stands an imposing 7-foot-2, walked by Wembanyama as he entered the court, television cameras caught his eyes widening as he shook his head in disbelief.
“I was like, ‘I thought I was tall,’ ” Embiid recalled after the game. “The dude was just towering over me.”
Wembanyama also flashed his tantalizing skill throughout the game. He buried 3-pointers on back-to-back first-quarter possessions, quickly elicited “oohs” from the crowd. He threw down an easy alley-oop dunk, then creatively maneuvered through the lane before springing forward for a slam. He later delivered a bounce pass in transition to Blake Wesley for a transition finish, and hit a funky spinning finger-roll layup over Embiid just before halftime.
Yet Wembanyama also wanted the primary defensive assignment on Embiid, because he believed it was “the best way to help my team.”
Embiid countered by being calculatingly dominant while making 24 of 41 shots and 21 of 23 free throws.
He hit an early pull-up over the lanky defender, and pushed him away for a two-handed jam later in the period. In the second quarter, Embiid bumped Wembanyama twice to draw a foul, an issue all night for the rookie. Then out of the halftime break, Embiid immediately drove his shoulder into Wembanyama for a dunk that prompted a Popovich frustration timeout. Embiid’s 40th point — which arrived during a stunning 25-point third quarter — came on a score inside against Wembanyama.
By the game’s final minutes, many who had chosen to attend this particular Sixers game for Wemby Mania were instead going berserk for their hometown hero. Embiid set a new career-high with 60 points on a free throw with 6:25 to play, then hit 70 on a steal and coast-to-coast finish. As he checked out in front of a roaring crowd, Wembanyama had already been on the bench for nearly three minutes of game action.
Embiid would love to see Wembanyama accomplish similar feats one day – “hopefully, when I don’t have to guard him and I’m out of the league,” he quipped after the game.
“He’s got everything,” Embiid said of Wembanyama. “Size, skill … There’s nothing else to say. Bright future. He’s already pretty good, but once he develops, and his body also catches up, it’s going to be a lot of problems for a lot of guys in this league.
“I hope, in a couple years … he’s able to do the same thing and go out and break all these records and possibly break Wilt’s record of 100 points.”
But Tuesday night provided a blunt reminder of who is the “Potential MVP,” and who already holds that title.
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