The Alien is Coming for It All

“If we don’t know it’s impossible, then we might still do it.”

Victor Wembanyama has never limited himself, and neither should you.

You don’t get a nickname like ‘The Alien’ by conforming to social norms. You get it by challenging everything we thought we knew about the physical world. Five years ago, nobody would have believed that a gangly teenager out of France would become one of the greatest defensive players in NBA history by the age of 22.

Well, it happened.

4x NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert has 154 combined steals and blocks so far this season. Wembanyama has already accumulated 204 – in thirteen fewer games.

And that’s not even the scariest part. No, the scariest part is that his offensive game is slowly catching up to his prodigious defensive talents. In his last five games played, Wembanyama is averaging 33 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game on 55/47/81 shooting splits.

Did I mention that San Antonio faced playoff teams in all five contests? Or that they won all five by an average of 13 points per game?

Oh yeah, he’s different.

So when Wemby boldly declared after a win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night that his goal is to win both the NBA Most Valuable Player and NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards this season, it wasn’t just wishful thinking. It was a warning.

He’s coming for it all.

Back in October, nobody would have believed that this Spurs roster was seriously capable of hoisting a Larry O’Brien trophy in June. San Antonio only has two players in their regular 10-man rotation that’s even won a playoff series, and the last team to win an NBA title with the kind of playoff inexperience was the 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers. You’d have to be outside your mind to think a team that green could be championship-worthy.

Well, it’s happening.

With Wembanyama leading the way, San Antonio is 49-18, and ranks fourth in offensive rating (117.6), third in defensive rating (110.3) and fourth in net rating (7.0). And that’s not even the scariest part.

No, the scariest part is that the young and inexperienced Spurs boast an NBA-record of

17-2 since February 1 with wins over the Celtics, Rockets, Thunder, Lakers and Pistons (twice) during the span. This young and precocious San Antonio roster is finding its stride even sooner than their most staunch defenders could have predicted. One might even say they’re lightyears ahead of schedule.

There’s only been one player in NBA history to win the MVP, DPOY and an NBA championship all in the same season: Hakeem Olajuwon, at age 30, in 1993-1994. Could the 22-year-old Wembanyama become the second?

Well, that all depends on one thing…

Do you believe in aliens?