Wembanyama Dropped 40 in 26 Minutes Just to Qualify for Awards — He Might Win All of Them

Victor Wembanyama was dealing with a rib contusion. He had exactly 64 games played. The NBA's 65-game rule said he needed one more qualifying appearance — at least 20 minutes — to be eligible for any postseason awards. So he went out and dropped 40 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists in 26 minutes against the Mavericks. Because of course he did.

The Spurs won 139-120, and Wemby became just the fifth player in NBA history to post a 40-13-5 line in under 30 minutes. He joined David Robinson in Spurs lore with his fifth 40-point double-double of the season. At 22 years old, his lineups this year have been more dominant than any regular season from LeBron, Shaq, Kobe, or Jokic. That's not a typo.

Now the fun part: Wemby is a unanimous lock for Defensive Player of the Year, a near-lock for All-NBA First Team, and firmly in the MVP conversation. He could legitimately win all three. After the game, he even had the awareness to empathize with guys like Cade Cunningham and Anthony Edwards who missed the 65-game cutoff due to injuries — questioning whether the rule itself is fair. The scariest thing about Wembanyama isn't what he did Friday night. It's that he's still getting better.