The matches follow one another and the passion of the basketball world for Victor Wembanyama does not weaken. On Tuesday, it was former player Metta Sandiford-Artest, born Ron Artest, who made a daring prediction concerning the 19-year-old Frenchman. “Wembanyama will be the first player to score 101 points in a game,” said the 2010 NBA champion with Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers.
“When Wembanyama scores 101 points, please remember who said it first,” added the 43-year-old, former All-Star and voted best defender of the 2003-04 season, who had changed its name to “Metta World Peace” between 2011 and 2020. The record for points in an NBA game is 100. It was established by the legendary pivot Wilt Chamberlain on March 2, 1962, in the jersey of the Philadelphia Warriors against the New York Knicks (169-147 victory).
However, it seems unlikely that a player will ever beat this record. The second best mark belongs to Kobe Bryant, who scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. Only two other players have scored more than 70 points in the 21st century: Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard, both peaking at 71 points, in 2023 .
After 7 games in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs, Wembanyama averages per game of 19.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. He notably climbed to 38 points against Kevin Durant's Phoenix Suns. The young Spurs team has a record of 3 wins and 4 losses. During the night from Wednesday to Thursday (1:30 a.m.), Wembanyama will discover the Knicks floor, Madison Square Garden. A twist of fate: this is where Wilt Chamberlain set his record of 100 points.