The San Antonio Spurs are on an absolute roll. With a win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night, they’ve won 10 games in a row.
The Spurs lost two games to open the season. They’ve rattled off 10 consecutive victories since.
This was always expected to be one of the best teams in the Western Conference, and the Spurs are certainly living up to that right now.
There’s something that’s happening, though, that is even more remarkable than it looks on the surface.
Victor Wembanyama is supposed to be dominant. Wemby is unlike any player in NBA history. It makes sense that he should make a big impact on every game he plays.
But in one stat, plus-minus, Wembanyama is having an even more absurd season than you might have imagined.
Wemby’s Dominant Stat
Here’s the stat: Wemby is a plus-225 through 12 games.
Across 10 Spurs wins and two losses, Wembanyama has been 225 points better than his opponents while he’s been on the floor.
In this case, that’s an average of 18.75 points better per game.
At one point in Wednesday’s game, Wembanyama was a plus-27 even when the Spurs were only up 13 — which means that when he was on the bench, the team was a negative-14.
San Antonio will have to be sure to play well in the non-Wemby minutes, too. That’s something the Denver Nuggets struggled with for a long time with Nikola Jokic.
But if the Spurs remain this good with Wembanyama on the floor, it won’t even matter what happens when he’s on the bench. Wemby plays the majority of the game and absolutely dominates.
Wemby Stats
Wembanyama had what just felt like another day at the office for him on Wednesday night in Chicago — and those work out to be pretty darn impressive.
Wemby dropped 32 points while making 13-of-18 shots from the field.
The big fella added nine rebounds, five blocks and two steals.
He was joined by a big night from Dylan Harper, who had 18 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and four steals.
Wemby — 32 PTS 9 REB 2 STL 5 BLK 13-18 FG
Harper — 18 PTS 6 REB 10 AST 4 STL
Spurs win their 10th straight.
Yep, these Spurs are pretty darn impressive.
It certainly helps to have Wembanyama, but he’s also not alone. These Spurs have figured out how to play with Wemby, and so when he’s in the game, they’re pretty much unstoppable.
Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama Even More Dominant Than You Think