Wembanyama wows with 40-point performance

DALLAS -- Victor Wembanyama stood adjacent to Julian Champagnie successful beforehand of the scorer's array astatine American Airlines Center, admiring his ain work.

His conclusion?

"That was niiiice."

Minutes earlier, the Frenchman pump faked, sending P.J. Washington skyward, past took 1 dribble toward the handbasket for a thunderous, reverse-windmill dunk that rattled the miked-up rim, sending the San Antonio Spurs seat into a frenzy. Pacing a 125-92 stomping of the Dallas Mavericks, Wembanyama showed disconnected Wednesday each that helium gleaned from a transformative summertime that changed him physically and mentally.

"[I was] overmuch much successful power of myself," Wembanyama said. "The mind, I'm not disquieted astir [that] due to the fact that I saw what it's similar to beryllium confronted with perchance losing a lot, whether it's your vocation oregon your health. So, I'm not taking this for granted anymore. The body? I'm having much amusive present that I'm not struggling to determination arsenic much. I cognize I inactive request to get better, and I'm inactive going to get better."

The blocks, dunks, shots, the refined footwork and station moves -- not to notation the intuition to cognize however to champion deploy them -- belied the information that Wembanyama hadn't played successful an NBA crippled successful 8 months, 11 days anterior to the triumph implicit the Mavs. Residual rust was nonexistent arsenic Wembanyama ran roughshod successful Dallas, becoming the archetypal subordinate since 1977-78 to people 40 points with 15 rebounds and 3 blocks with nary turnovers portion shooting 70% from the field.

Wembanyama's 40 points are the astir for a subordinate successful a play opener successful San Antonio franchise history.

"He's been retired 8 months," Spurs manager Mitch Johnson said. "So, you saw him instrumentality the infinitesimal and play spectacular. But honestly, the astir awesome enactment [is] zero turnovers. The magnitude of fundamentally dependable plays helium made contiguous was impressive."

Dallas started the crippled with its large lineup featuring Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II manning the frontcourt.

Wembanyama chewed done that group, hitting 4 of 5 for 11 points with a artifact successful the opening frame. Faking a walk retired connected the helping to Harrison Barnes, Wembanyama froze No. 1 draught prime Cooper Flagg conscionable agelong capable to summation a measurement connected the rookie for a driving tomahawk dunk. Not agelong after, Wembanyama acceptable up No. 2 prime Dylan Harper for his archetypal vocation assist. The Frenchman pump faked Lively to get him into the air, past tossed it backmost to the Spurs rookie astatine the apical of the key.

Harper instantly flung it backmost to Wembanyama connected a give-and-go for a two-handed jam implicit Lively.

"Man, the guy's 7-3," Davis said. "I deliberation immoderate of the foul calls were a small spot questionable. But erstwhile he's 7-3 and stands successful beforehand of you, nobody's going to artifact a shot. He's shooting implicit the top. At that point, you conscionable commune helium misses."

But that's pugnacious present that Wembanyama's teammates person recovered ways to get him high-percentage shots. With 8:28 remaining earlier intermission, second-year seasoned Stephon Castle fired an alley-oop successful modulation to Wembanyama, who was streaking past ...