NBA: Wembanyama wants to be a part of 'greatness'

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The San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (#1) scores during the NBA game against the New York Knicks in San Antonio, U.S., March 29, 2024. /CFP

Victor Wembanyama of France became the first rookie in three decades to score 40 points and grab 20 rebounds in NBA, since Shaquille O'Neal in 1993.

The towering 20-year-old said this showed the young team's progress as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the New York Knicks 130-126 overtime on Friday, in which Wembanyama helped the Spurs withstand a dazzling 61-point performance from Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson.

"I've never seen so (much) greatness before this season," Wembanyama said. "I've just witnessed so much greatness and I want to be a part of it.

"I always wanted to, but more and more seeing that (I'm) already able to compete with those guys. I'm not near (them) but I'm on the right path. I know it, and I'm going to get there one day soon," he added.

"It's not the goal, but it still shows progression," Wembanyama said of the statistical milestones he has managed in a season that has seen him post the first 10-block game in more than three years and become the youngest player to score a 5x5: at least five points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals in one game.

"The Knicks (in November) was a tough game for us and I would say a game that embodied a lot of our weaknesses that we've been able to erase a little bit throughout the season more and more," Wembanyama said. "This is the type of contrast we want to see in the season. But I wouldn't expect less of us. We're a young team. We need to get better every night."

"He's going to be one of the greatest players this game has seen," Jalen Brunson of the Knicks commented.

(With input from AFP)