SAN ANTONIO -- Spurs star Victor Wembanyama launched a career-high 34 shots for a season-high 43 points Saturday to propel San Antonio to a 121-111 win over the Timberwolves.
"When he plays with his teammates, it really causes a problem for the other team, whether that's spacing, handling the basketball, playing two-man game or three-man game," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "The best players in this league, when they play with their teammates, it's damn near impossible at times [to stop]. You've got to just choose how they beat you. He's made some fine improvement in a short amount of time."
Wembanyama's performance marked the first time the Spurs emerged victorious on a night the Frenchman finished with 30 attempts or more. The 22-year-old also contributed five blocks to become the first Spurs player since David Robinson (1996) to rack up at least 40 points and five blocks in a game and the first player in the NBA since Joel Embiid (2022) to accomplish the feat.
San Antonio fell short the two previous times Wembanyama hoisted 30 shots or more. He attempted 31 shots on Christmas Day of his second NBA season (2024) to finish with 42 points in a 117-114 loss to the New York Knicks. Four days later, Wembanyama finished with 30 attempts in a 112-110 loss to the Timberwolves.
"He's just so dominant," said second-year guard Dylan Harper, who notched a regular-season career-high 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting. "When he puts his imprint on the game, he's unstoppable. He did that tonight from the jump to the end of the game."
Wembanyama's shot diet looked different too. He nailed a corner 3-pointer with 2:40 remaining for his final bucket to extend San Antonio's lead to 118-107. Wembanyama would fire up eight 3-pointers on the night, knocking down three of them. But 12 of Wembanyama's 14 other baskets came from distances of two feet or fewer, including four alley-oops and four dunks.
Wembanyama mentioned after struggling in San Antonio's season-opening loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder that he needed "to go back to playing the basketball I like."
By the 5:23 mark of the third quarter, the "WemVP" chants started raining down on Wembanyama as he took a pair of foul shots.
"It's like pattern recognition," he said. "The brain, after so many games, literally hundreds of games now in the NBA, knows what kind of game to go towards to have fun. Because whenever we don't score, it's like negative feedback. Whenever we score, we get good results, positive feedback for the brain. Over time, you recognize patterns, and you err towards those patterns. There's always ups and downs, but we're turning in the right direction."
San Antonio's four-guard starting lineup featuring Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and Harper continues to make progress. Wembanyama, Fox and Harper combined for 90 points as the Spurs won the rebounding battle 49-38. Castle finished with four assists and a steal despite fighting through a migraine headache during his 22 minutes on the floor.
Wembanyama declined to divulge what's exactly behind his increased comfort level lately, saying "it will help my opponents" to openly discuss. The Frenchman has dropped 36 and 43 points in his last two outings, as the Spurs extended their winning streak to four games.
On Saturday, San Antonio faced a depleted Timberwolves team missing star guard Anthony Edwards (knee). LaMelo Ball played only 20 minutes, and he picked up four fouls in the first half before fouling out with 3:43 remaining.