Victor Wembanyama Just Joined Kareem and Hakeem in a Playoff Club That Only Has Three Members

The San Antonio Spurs didn’t win the NBA Finals. Victor Wembanyama, at 22, didn’t hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in his first trip to the championship round. But the numbers he put up along the way? Those put him in a room with two of the most dominant centers the league has ever seen.

Across 22 playoff games, Wembanyama averaged 23.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks. That triple-threat stat line — scoring, rebounding, and shot-blocking at that volume — had only been done before in a single postseason by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1979-80) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94). Both of those legends also reached the Finals that same year. So did Wembanyama.

The difference? Age. Abdul-Jabbar was 32 when he did it. Olajuwon was 31. Wembanyama just turned 22. That’s not just impressive. That’s a historic outlier.

Still, raw numbers don’t tell the whole story. The Spurs’ offense sputtered in late-game situations against the New York Knicks, and Wembanyama wasn’t immune. He shot just 12-of-35 from the field in fourth quarters during the Finals — a glaring inefficiency for a player being asked to create in crunch time.

The Go-To Move Problem

Abdul-Jabbar had the sky hook. Olajuwon had the dream shake. Wembanyama doesn’t have a signature, unguardable move yet. That’s not a criticism — it’s an observation about what comes next.

Former NBA champion Iman Shumpert said on The Hoop Collective podcast that Wembanyama should spend the summer alongside another all-time great big man: Tim Duncan. “He wasn’t ready,” Shumpert said. “I know if they haven’t already, this is your year to work with Tim Duncan. It’s time to sit down with Tim Duncan for the whole summer and understand how to get to something. How to have a plan that nobody can do anything about.”

Shumpert went on: “These playoffs should have taught him that in the middle of these games, there’s gonna be that circus moment where everything’s spinning, and everything’s blurry, and in all that chaos, I’m gonna be the guy that gets right here and shoots this shot. He’s gonna have to watch Dirk [Nowitzki], you’re gonna have to watch some Kobe [Bryant]. Go watch some Tim Duncan.”

What’s Next for the Spurs?

Wembanyama will return next season with a backcourt that includes talented young guards Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle. San Antonio’s ability to get back to the Finals could depend entirely on whether he develops into a late-game offensive engine. The talent is there. The foundation is there. Now it’s about refining the craft.

The company he’s kept so far — Kareem, Hakeem — suggests he’s on the right track. The question is whether he can turn that company into a legacy.