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Six Ways Wemby Dominated to Lead Spurs Past Suns

Victor Wembanyama put up 40 points on just 19 shots to go with 11 boards and eight blocks, and he stuffed the highlight reel with jaw-dropping highlights.

Nov 9, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) blocks the shot of Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Spurs extinguished the Suns for their ninth win in a row, a 122-96 blowout behind another masterful performance from Victor Wembanyama.

Wemby proved to be an unsolvable problem for Phoenix, putting up 40 points on just 19 shot attempts and adding 11 boards and eight blocks, +30 in 25 minutes. The numbers look ridiculous, but they capture only 27% of the raw power and sheer dominance he put on display. Full appreciation requires poring over the action packed highlight reel that won't get any less absurd no matter how many times you rewatch it.

Here's every way Wembanyama dominated the Suns:

Defensive Menace

Wembanyama almost logged a triple-double with blocks, and blocked two shots on a single possession two separate times in this game. He talked his talk, pumping his fist after returning one to sender and then turning his palms up at his opponent with a furrowed brow as if to say, "why'd you try to do that?'

The Suns offense stalled completely with Wemby out there as they hit just 15-49 from the floor in his minutes. He blocked more around half of the shots they attempted at the rim, and made them think better of attempting many more.

Shot Selection, Balanced Aggression

One of the main reasons Wemby is off to such a strong start this season is his focus on the interior, and this game is perhaps his most discerning yet. Of his 19 field goal attempts, a dozen came right at the rim and he made every single one. He made 2-3 from deep, and only attempted three shots in between.

In addition to hammering his biggest advantage, he seems to get better at forcing defenses to foul him and forcing refs to call it with each passing game. He added nine free throw attempts in this one.

"I think he's allowing the game to unfold naturally, and he's doing a great job of putting himself in positions to take advantage of the opportunities in front of him," Mitch Johnson said after the game. "His teammates are doing a good job as well of utilizing him when appropriate."

Another point of offensive efficiency is the ball movement. San Antonio logged 30 assists in Phoenix, 11 of them to the big fella.

"We're playing the right way, we're playing with and for each other, this is the basketball I like," Wembanyama said.

Transition Rim Running

This Spurs team is unbelievably dangerous in transition, and when Wembanyama gets behind the defense it's about as easy as two points can be.

In the first quarter, Steph Castle dropped it off to a hard-charging Wembanyama who caught the ball at the elbow, deftly took his two steps through the defense, and dunked with two hands for safety.

Wembanyama had tons of room to spare on that finish, and late in the game he tried to see just how much further he could finish from. He caught the ball with one foot on the 3-point line and a full head of steam, launched from outside the free-throw line, and glided through the lane for a finger-roll finish. It looked like he was getting ready to put back a potential miss, but he didn't need to.

A Very Foxy Pick and Roll

Wembanyama leads the NBA with 36 alley-oops this year including four on Monday night. De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle serve up the vast majority of those lobs, and recently the Spurs are dialing in that pick and roll with Fox to inflict maximum punishment.

When Wembanyama sets a screen and Fox dribbles to his dominant left hand with speed, the defense is more compromised than a honeypotted tech CEO.

Fox finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists, another hyper-efficient outing with just eight shot attempts. He put forth an assist-of-the-year candidate, tiptoing the baseline in Sean Elliott's hometown as he caught a pass and whipped it behind his back to the corner for 3.

Heads-up Passing

The fourth guard in the starting lineup often begins the rush with the ball in his hands, and he does a good job of looking for his teammates up court. On this one his teammates did a stellar job of flattening the floor to create a lane for Harper, and Wembanyama saw it on the fly and hit it ahead on time.

Wembanyama draws so much attention that the give-and-go should work wonders, and Steph Castle sort of stumbled into one for a highlight play. He bailed out of a corner 3 when the defender closed out well, getting the ball to Wembanyama a few feet away. When the ball went to Wemby so did the eyes and bodies of the three nearest defenders, leaving Castle a wide open lane to the hoop. Wembanyama bounced the ball back just as soon as he caught it, and Steph slammed a tomahawk down.

"He has so many weapons in his bag, so many options on the menu, his maturity and understanding of the decisionmaking in that moment... is of the utmost importance," he said. "That harmony and rhythm he has with his teammates, and the expectation which then hopefully becomes anticipation of what's gonna happen, is really important."

Unreal Iso Bag

While Wemby has helped his efficiency by focusing more on finishing and less on creating his own shot, he still shows moments of brilliance with his most dazzling and jaw dropping skills.

With the shot clock winding down and half the floor to work with, Wembanyama backed down Oso Ighodaro and hit him with a volley of fakes and feints before spinning into a fadeaway jumper on the baseline. Ighodaro defended it about as well as anyone could be expected to, but it did not matter. With no help defense in the area, he buried the dream shake.

At the start of the fourth quarter Wembanyama brought the ball up and set his sights on Khaman Maluach. Wemby crossed over each time the second-year center reached. He went between the legs, crossover, backward between the legs, crossover, behind the back, the five-move combo taking him from the perimeter to the paint. He faked, spun off his pivot foot, and laid up one of the smoothest technical sequences you'll ever see from a 7-foot-5 player.

The level of control he shows here is unfathomable, unfair, borderline cruel. His footwork, ball security, fluidity, and understanding of pace and direction all look like a star guard got supersized.

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