What Wembanyamas 43-point outburst says about the Spurs as a team

Minnesota coach Chris Finch had seen enough. He just needed a place to aim his frustration.

The nearest official would have to do.

Bearing witness as Victor Wembanyama put on his own personal dunk contest at the expense of the Timberwolves on Saturday, Finch took exception when one of his players was whistled for a foul against the Spurs’ skyscraping All-Star center.

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“What are you supposed to do?” Finch bellowed. “He’s 8 feet f—- tall!”

That, of course, is rapidly becoming the question du jour across the NBA when it comes to Wembanyama.

Already renowned as the league’s premiere defensive force, the 7-4 Wembanyama is showing signs of fashioning himself into a powerhouse on the offensive end as well.

In a 121-111 victory over Chris Finch’s increasingly exasperated Timberwolves at the Frost Bank Center, Wembanyama supplied another emphatic argument, pouring in 43 points for the second-highest scoring performance of his career.

He did it on 34 shot attempts, the most he’s ever attempted in an NBA game. He made half of them.

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“I think that we’ve seen a young man over three-plus years now who has matured physically, he’s matured emotionally, he’s matured mentally, he’s put a lot of hard work in,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson. “The game’s slowing down for him. The best players in this league, when they have that recipe, you just see these jumps and improvement.”

As typical for the NBA’s only unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, Wembanyama’s impact extended well beyond the scoring column Saturday.

He swatted six Minnesota shots, becoming the first Spurs player to score at least 40 points with at least five blocks since David Robinson in 1996.

Wembanyama also poured in 24 points before halftime, giving him at least 20 in the first half of three consecutive games. The last Spur to manage that was Tim Duncan in January 2001.

All in all, it was a far cry from Wembanyama’s 1-for-13 dud in a season-opening loss against Oklahoma City, after which the 22-year-old Frenchman said he needed to return to having fun on the court.

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Judging by Saturday’s outburst, he’s found his way back to the fun zone.

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“The brain knows what kind of game to go towards to have fun,” Wembanyama said. “Whenever we don’t score, it’s like negative feedback. Whenever we score, we get good results. It’s positive feedback for the brain. Over time, you recognize patterns and you err towards those patterns.”

After his recent barrage, Wembanyama has upped his early-season scoring average to 28 points per game.

He will look for more Monday at the Frost Bank Center, when the Spurs face a Utah squad he torched for 36 points and 14 rebounds in an overtime victory in Salt Lake City last week.

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“He’s just so dominant,” Spurs guard Dylan Harper said. “When he goes out there and puts his imprint on the game, he’s unstoppable.”

For Johnson, the beauty of Wembanyama’s performance was that he stole the show without turning the entire production into a solo act.

He was extraordinarily effective playing off his teammates.

He punished Minnesota in the pick-and-roll, sprinted the floor and finished lobs. Seven of his 14 made 2-pointers came on dunks, many of them the product of teammates putting him in position to finish.

Fox put together rare performance in Spurs’ victory over Timberwolves

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Even when a superstar takes over, basketball is still a team game. Wembanyama offered a compelling demonstration against the Timberwolves.

“When he plays with his teammates, it really causes a problem for the other team,” Johnson said. “We have a lot of talent, this league has a lot of talent. And the best players in this league, when they play with their teammates, it’s damn-near impossible at times.”

Saturday, the Spurs made getting Wembanyama the ball at the rim into a group project. Harper, De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle all found him for easy dunks, joining in on the highlight-reel festivities.

With seven slams against the Wolves, Wembanyama has totaled 22 in his past three games. He had 10 in the first three.

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The Spurs insist their offense cannot always be reduced to “throw the ball to the big, tall guy at the rim” on every possession. Nights like Saturday make that a tough case to argue.

“Vic’s probably the best roller ever to play the game, probably the best lob threat ever,” Fox said. “So people try to keep him away from the rim as much as possible. That’s where it becomes not as simple.”

Indeed, it is worth noting Wembanyama was still “8 feet f—- tall” back on Oct. 20, when he made but a single field goal against the Thunder.

He has been better lately at making his unmatched height work for him – and for the rest of the team.

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When Minnesota managed to plug the Wembanyama-sized hole in the paint Saturday – no easy task with 7-foot-1 defensive ace Rudy Gobert sidelined by a back issue – the rest of the Spurs made the Timberwolves pay.

Harper scored 25 points, his regular-season career high. Fox added 22 for his best scoring night of the season.

The backcourt helped fuel the Spurs’ fourth consecutive victory, even with Castle enduring just the third scoreless game of his career.

“It’s hard to stop us when we’re all on the same page,” Fox said.

Of course, Wembanyama was not always content to wait for a teammate to set him up.

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With fellow Frenchman Joan Beringer blocking his path to the basket, Wembanyama took matters into his own hands. He tossed the ball off the backboard, sprinted toward the rim and finished his own alley-oop.

“That was the highlight of the game, I guess,” Harper said. “It’s like anything else doesn’t matter.”

For the Spurs, this was pure fun. For Finch and the Timberwolves, pure frustration.

Utah gets the next crack at figuring out what to do with the alleged 8-footer.

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This article originally published at What Wembanyama’s 43-point outburst says about the Spurs as a team.