Victor Wembanyama Repeats Shaquille O’Neal’s 30YO Feat, Embellishes Spurs Win With Major Milestone

It’s time to open comparisons between Victor Wembanyama and a rookie Shaquille O’Neal! The San Antonio Spurs sensation single-handedly put the New York Knicks to sleep, who were desperate to secure a win ahead of the playoffs. Despite Jalen Brunson’s 61-point outburst, the Knicks could not get a hold of clutch Wembanyama. The 20-year-old lit up the Spurs arena, but notably, he has also rewritten history after 3 decades, to sit next to a rookie Shaq. 

In the 130-126 victory against the Knicks, Wembanyama secured 40 points, 20 rebounds, and 7 assists. The French Unicorn is the only rookie to secure a 40-point, 20-rebound game, after Shaquille O’Neal, who last recorded these numbers in 1993 for the Orlando Magic.

On 16th February 1993, a 21-year-old Shaq dropped 46 points, and 21 rebounds against the Detroit Pistons, with a field goal percentage of 76. Notably, Shaq did not take a single three-pointer in that game, but Wembanyama made four three-pointers of the nine shots he took. Well, that shows how versatile the Spurs rookie is! 

This 40-point game also included a clutch 3P from Wembanyama in the final minute of the overtime, which gave the Spurs a 4-point lead that the Knicks couldn’t catch up. It was a historic night for Brunson too, who is now the 2nd player to record the highest points in a game for the Knicks. First is Carmelo Anthony, who dropped 62 points. While Wembanyama has now entered the conversation to sit with Shaq, let’s take a deeper look at both of their rookie years.

Is Victor Wembanyama having a more efficient rookie season than Shaquille O’Neal? 

Shaq arguably has one of the best stats for a rookie in the NBA. In his first year for the Magic, he averaged 23.4 points, and 13.9 rebounds, in the 81 games he played. On the other hand, Wembanyama has averaged 21 points and 10.5 rebounds in the 65 games he has played so far. However, when it comes to steals and assists, the French star ranks higher.

He has 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals, compared to Shaq’s 1.9 assists, and 0.7 steals. On top of all of this, Wembanyama has recorded the above stats by averaging just 29.2 minutes per game. Shaq averaged nearly 38 minutes a game.

Coach Pop did not let the 7’4 rookie play the game to his full potential in the first season. However, today, Wembanyama had to play 38 minutes as the game went overtime. Well, imagine what the stats would be if the 20-year-old started to play for more minutes. We will find that out soon in the upcoming seasons.

Do you think he can have a better career than 4x champion Shaq? 

Read More: NBA on TNT: Shaquille O’Neal Claims He Was Victor Wembanyama Before Spurs Rookie’s Birth