The Alien Who Fell To Earth
Victor Wembanyama has the sports world buzzing.
In this age of hype and hyperbole, it’s rare that a person delivers on the wild promises of the star-obsessed media. Especially in the world of sports, which rely heavily on cycles of propaganda and fanfare, it’s really only the odd moment, performance, or player that truly levels up to the surreal and sublime.
The career of Tiger Woods comes to mind. Lionel Messi too. Usain Bolt and his jaw-dropping performance at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin has to be in that category as well. And Shohei Ohtani’s miraculous three home run, 10 strikeout game in the National League Championship Series last Friday night also comes to mind. All have proved transcendent figures who, over the span of their careers and in particularly bright and searing moments, elevated their craft to the point of resetting what we believed possible. It’s why we watch, despite hours and weeks and months and years of the perfectly fine, in hopes of witnessing the unimaginably great.
For those who missed it, one of those unimaginable moments occurred on Wednesday evening at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. It was the season opener for the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs, and though there were several intriguing story lines that made the matchup worth watching, the one that everyone came to see somehow defied expectations. No, I’m not talking about the debut of 6-foot-9 Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg, the Maine-born, former Duke Blue Devil whose special blend of high motor, elite court vision, dominant scoring, and relentless defense made him the unanimous #1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
For an 18-year-old, Flagg had an impressive enough debut. On a night when the entire basketball universe was tuned in, Flagg’s 10 point, 10 rebound double-double showcased exactly the ability heralded when the Mavericks saw fit to build the future of the franchise around the shifty point forward. But for a game that was invented and organized at its highest levels by Americans, Wednesday was all about the alien who fell to earth and landed in Le Chesnay, France 21-odd years ago.
Victor Wembanyama. If you haven’t heard the name until now, get used to hearing it. In Dallas on Wednesday night, it was Wembanyama’s turn to etch his name among a class of players that defy the very plausible and real expectations set forward by the rest of us mere mortals. Across two mesmerizing, unbelievable halves of basketball, Wembanyama, who goes by “Wemby” for short, became the first player since turnovers began to be recorded in 1977 to post 40 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks, and zero turnovers while shooting an unreal 70 percent field goal percentage from the floor. His performance was, in a single word: perfection.
“What he did in that game was one of the most frightening things I’ve seen on a basketball court,” Founder and CEO of the Ringer Bill Simmons said in reaction to Wemby’s performance. “I would argue it was actually underrated how insane it was. I was in awe.”
So was I. In my nearly 40 years of sports watching, I have rarely witnessed anything come close to the excellence and ability I saw on Wednesday night. Though the elongated Wemby looks like a literal giant, he moves with the unfathomable grace, fluidity, and skill of a man a foot shorter. Towering dunks, spinning alley-oops, inhuman blocks, silky jumpers, refined footwork, smooth dribbling, and a big, giant smile to match the big, giant arms and legs, Wembenyama, in primetime, soared through the air and rallied past what is considered one of the stoutest defenses in the league.
Wednesday night was as much about the performance of Anthony Davis as it was about Wembanyama. Davis, the 10-time NBA all star who was the 1st overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and in 2021 was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, was brought in by the Mavericks specifically to form a defensive unit that could dampen the potency of any conceivable offense in the league. But he and the Mavericks were helpless against Wemby. One of the greatest big men defenders to ever play the sport, Davis struggled mightily to contain the Frenchman whose improbable ability to dribble and shoot at his size is every bit as nuanced, developed, and impressive as what you would expect from his remarkable inside game.
“When he’s seven-three and stands in front of you, nobody’s going to block that shot,” Davis explained to reporters after the game. “He’s shooting over the top. At that point, you just pray he misses.”
Just pray he misses. That’s not the way defenders generally talk about NBA big men who often struggle to develop the fluidity and athleticism required to shoot the ball at a high clip. “Just pray he misses” is a quote that would usually be attributable to much smaller guards such as Steph Curry, the 6-foot-2 knockdown shooter who led the Golden State Warriors to back-to-back NBA titles in the late teens behind his incredible shotmaking ability. But for the league’s best defenders to make similar comments about a 7-foot-4 walking giant who no one can raise a defensive hand to is, in the words of Simmons, “frightening.”
In one magnificent sequence on Wednesday, Wembanyama showed why, if he stays healthy, he will likely reset the hoops greatness scale as we know it. With Davis draped all over him, Wemby pulled out his bag of tricks, repeatedly feigning and shifting back and forth until Davis finally left his feet. With Davis hanging in the air, Wemby clattered into the defender causing the referee to whistle for a foul. Then, as he was still suspended, Wembanyama flicked his wrist from 20 feet out. Nothing but net.
“Are you entertained!?” shrieked ESPN announcer Ryan Ruocco. “A figment of our basketball imaginations!”
Ruocco wasn’t exaggerating. In another unfathomable series of highlights, Wembanyama emphatically blocked the 7-foot-1 Mavericks center Dereck Lively before bringing the ball up the court like a point guard, crossing up Lively with his silky dribble, and then swishing a step-back three pointer while being fouled. “It’s like playing against your dad when you’re eight years old,” remarked broadcaster Jay Bilas incredulously. “What do you do?”
What can be done to slow the mammoth talent is anyone’s best guess. At only 21 years of age, Wemby is likely to be positioned at the center of the basketball universe for at least a decade to come. One concern, especially given his ridiculous size, is health. Wemby’s 2024-25 season was cut short when doctors discovered a blood clot in the Frenchman’s right shoulder following the All Star Game in February.
Speaking of his trials and tribulations, Wembanyama said he is taking nothing for granted. “I’m having more fun now that I’m not struggling to move as much,” said Wemby. “I know I still need to get better and I’m still gonna get better.” By July, Wemby had been cleared to return to basketball activities at which point he took a unique path in preparation of the upcoming season.
In pursuit of greatness, Wembanyama embraced a number of unusual methods meant to not only sharpen his game on the court but his person off of it. From training with NBA legend Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon to spending 10 days in Zhengzhou, China, learning from monks at a Shaolin Temple, Wemby’s dedication to the complete package is paying dividends on the court where he looks in a class all to himself.
“He is so intentional in the variety of ways that he tries to improve as a player and person,” Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said of his budding superstar. “He’s constantly trying to push himself out of his comfort zone and learn new things.”
And new things are exactly what audiences are witnessing when they tune in to the alien’s games. It’s part of what made Wembanyama’s MVP odds double from 11 percent to 22 percent on Polymarket in the hours following his performance on Wednesday. In an era defined by big promises, Wembanyama is fulfilling his hype in ways that seem unbelievable. Don’t miss out on a cosmic grace that has never been seen before.
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