Victor Wembanyama leads San Antonio Spurs to upset victory over Oklahoma City Thunder in battle for Rookie of the Year

In this battle between the frontrunners for Rookie of the Year, Victor Wembanyama made a statement as he led the San Antonio Spurs to a shocking 132-118 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Frost Bank Center.

There has been bad blood between Vic and Chet ever since their teenage years, and things seem to have only heated up as they met up in the pros. Both are labeled as unicorns and there’s always hype whenever they play. With similar body types and versatility, these promising stars will be competing for years to come and will only get better the longer they play.

Wemby dominated in this game, finishing with 28 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 5 blocks while hitting 5 three pointers. This game was back and forth all night but in the waning minutes of the final quarter, the first overall pick took over on both ends of the court. He made key defensive stops, hit his teammates for open looks, and hit huge shots, including numerous clutch triples.

Devin Vassell also scored 28 points to go along with 9 assists and Jeremy Sochan ended with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Tre Jones recorded 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded his 44th game of scoring 30 or more points. In this one he had 31 points on 55% shooting. Despite all the Wemby hype, Chet Holmgren showed out as well, as he finished with 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Jalen Williams scored 26 points while Isaiah Joe had 15 points with 4 made threes off the bench.

OKC falls to 41-18 with this loss, sitting 1 game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for the best record in the Western Conference. At this point in the season, every game is important so this loss to the worst team in the conference is one the Thunder wish they could have back. Despite this loss, they are still rolling, going 7-3 in their last 10 games. Their next game will be on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns where they’ll look to bounce back.

Meanwhile, the Spurs improve to 12-48 with this win. San Antonio has the third worst record in the NBA but they have the best prospect ever who’s already proving to be one of the top players in today’s game. They will look to continue developing him over the last few weeks of the regular season before bringing in more help in the offseason. San Antonio snapped a 5-game losing streak lost and will play next on Sunday against the Indiana Pacers.