All Victor Wembanyama did was earn the right to play four more games.
There wasn’t a ring to hand him at the end of the game. There was a trophy, but it wasn’t the trophy. There was a series MVP trophy for him, but not that series MVP trophy.
Judging by the tears on his face, Wembanyama didn’t seem to know it.
The elation reddening his face and the fervor with which he hugged his San Antonio Spurs teammates didn’t suggest a player who has “been here before.”
Because he hasn’t, and just making the NBA Finals was enough of a dream come true.
“Realizing that some part of a childhood dream is going to come true,” Wembanyama said on stage while holding the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP Trophy. “Even though I’m still hungry for one more, this feeling is — I can’t explain it. It’s so powerful.”
The emotion tearing from Wemby’s body the second the Spurs defeated the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 visibly overwhelmed him. He dipped his head into his jersey, doubled over and back again. He collapsed his 7-foot-4 frame into teammate Stephon Castle and cried into his point guard’s chest.
Wembanyama scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a decisive Game 7 victory. He averaged 27.3 points and 10.9 rebounds in the series. He was a league MVP finalist this season and the best player in this series, leading San Antonio to its first NBA Finals since 2014.
But this moment was for his teammates.
He pumped his fists, then collapsed again into a group hug with Castle, veteran center Bismack Biyombo, Keldon Johnson and several other teammates. Julian Champagnie was enveloped in a passionate embrace. Assistant coach Sean Sweeney was snatched up right after.
“They don’t even know how much I love them,” Wembanyama said. “They’re just incredible. Everybody stepped up tonight. … I love these guys.”
There are four more games to win. As the Alien continues ascending the NBA hierarchy, there is a bigger trophy to earn. But this is the same Wembanyama who cried after a tough regular-season loss earlier this season.
This is the same Wembanyama who finally bested Chet Holmgren, a rival he has shared a very public feud with since they were teenagers. This is also the same Wembanyama who sent veiled shots at the Thunder’s legitimacy after beating them in the NBA Cup in December, saying he was glad to be part of something so beautiful – pure and ethical basketball.
And this was the same Wembanyama who had to watch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander accept an MVP award that the Frenchman was up for, right in front of him, before Game 1. He responded by posting a historic 41-point, 24-rebound performance and outscoring the Thunder by himself, 12-7, in the closing moments of a double-overtime victory. The same player who openly admitted afterward that, yes, he wants to win one of those Michael Jordan trophies.
So, this mattered to him, and he showed it in spades.
The New York Knicks await the Spurs for a rematch of the 1999 NBA Finals. In just four days, Game 1 of the NBA Finals will tip off, and the unbridled emotion Wembanyama showed will fade. Again, he’ll stare at the final peak left to conquer.
“I know my emotions are probably going to be a little bit numb,” Wembanyama told NBC’s crew after the game, “because of the will to win.”
He knows the job isn’t finished yet.
But for this night, he allowed himself to shed tears at the buzzer.
And he wasn’t going to subdue them.
Sam Amick contributed to this story.
