Wembanyama's 52-point night shows value of attacking the rim

Victor Wembanyama scored 52 points, grabbed 24 rebounds and blocked eight shots as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-111 on Wednesday. The performance was striking not only for its numbers, but for how much of his scoring came from close to the basket.

Dallas recovered from a 19-point deficit to tie the game with under two minutes remaining. Wembanyama scored San Antonio’s final seven points, including the winning free throw, and accounted for 11 of the Spurs’ last 13. It was their sixth straight victory after opening the season with two losses.

More shots near the rim

Wembanyama made 15 of his 20 shots from inside the arc against Dallas and converted 19 free throws. He made only one three-pointer. By contrast, his previous career-high 50-point game in 2024 featured eight made threes.

That difference reflects a wider change through the Spurs’ first eight games. Wembanyama is taking 42% of his shots from inside three feet, up from 33% last season. His attempts in the restricted area have risen from 6.0 to 10.1 per game, while his dunks have increased from 2.7 to 5.1 per game.

The shift does not mean he has abandoned the perimeter. Rather, he is spending more possessions in positions where a cut, a roll towards the basket or an offensive rebound can lead to a close-range attempt. San Antonio has also initiated some pick-and-rolls lower on the floor, leaving him a shorter route to the rim.

Last season’s playoffs showed why that positioning matters. In the first two games of the Finals against the Knicks, Wembanyama attempted more shots outside the paint than inside it, and New York went 2-0 up. In Game 3, he took 13 of his 18 shots inside the paint as the Spurs won.

A strong response to opening night

Wembanyama’s form is a sharp turnaround from his 1-for-13 shooting performance in an opening-night loss to the Thunder. After that game, he spoke about playing without hesitation: “I got no reason to be hesitant, no reason to not be myself.”

Across his last seven games, he is averaging 31.4 points, 12.2 rebounds and 4.3 blocks while shooting 52%. His Dallas performance brought another unusual statistical feat: only Wilt Chamberlain had previously recorded at least 50 points, 20 rebounds and eight blocks in a game, according to the source, though Chamberlain did so before blocks became an official statistic.

Wembanyama is still taking three-pointers and has made 24% of them so far this season. His increased presence near the basket, however, is already producing more close-range chances and helped decide a game Dallas had fought back to level.