Spurs center Victor Wembanyama joins elite company through 82 career NBA games

Victor Wembanyama turned in a 34-point, 14-rebound, 6-assist performance on Monday that boosted his career numbers to impressive totals.

• Get NBA League Pass TODAY >

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama had another monstrous outing that put him in the record books among impressive company.

Wembanyama had 34 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and three blocks as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Sacramento Kings 116-96 on Monday night.

It was Wembanyama’s 82nd career game, giving the 7-foot-3 No. 1 pick in 2023 from France a full season of play.

And with his outstanding performance, Wembanyama joined Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Blake Griffin and Sidney Wicks as the only players in league history with 1,700 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists in their first 82 games.

Veteran point guard Chris Paul believes the league has yet to see the best of Wembanyama.

“I wish you guys could see the work that goes on day in and day out,” Spurs veteran point guard Chris Paul said. “You know how talented he is, but his willingness to want to get better. His willingness to want to work on things. The more games we play, I think we’re all going to get more and more familiar with each other.”

Wembanyama was named Kia Rookie of the Year and was runner-up to compatriot Rudy Gobert for Defensive Player of the Year last season. He averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and led the league with 3.6 blocks in 71 games.

Aside from averaging 4.0 blocks, his numbers are down a bit this season, but he’s doing better after a long summer spent helping France win silver at the Paris Olympics.

Wembanyama had 24 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks in a 111-110 loss to Utah on Saturday. He set a career high for 3-pointers by shooting 6 for 9 against the Jazz.

It was Wembanyama’s third career game with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and five 3-pointers. That’s the most in league history and surpasses two such games by Boston center Kristaps Porzingis.

Wembanyama was 6 for 12 on 3-pointers against the Kings to match his career high.

After a sluggish start where his 3-point shooting dropped to 25%, Wembanyama is 14 for 27 on 3-pointers in his last three games.

“I just take better 3s,” Wembanyama said. “Yes, of course it feels better. I’m 20, I hope for a few years it will keep feeling better and better. There’s no reason for it to feel worse.”