Fantasy Basketball Week 8 Recap: Victor Wembanyama makes history

On By Littum

Another great week of NBA action was highlighted by a few familiar names that seem to be continually rewriting the history books. There was also the sustained performance of a number of players who have been in action all season, while a handful of guys who had gotten off to a slow start seem to have taken steps to regain their better potential. Finally, there were plenty of one-off performances worth noting, as some players surprised the competition by coming up bigger than usual, while others showed they are still among the best, despite ongoing struggles through injury problems.

On Thursday, LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (57,446) for first place in all-time regular season minutes played. James finished the game with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists as the Lakers topped the Kings by a score of 113-110. James then followed up with 32 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals in his next outing on Saturday.

Victor Wembanyama became the sixth and youngest player in NBA history to record 30 points and 10 blocks in a game, and the only player ever to record 10 blocks and four 3-pointers in a game when he had 30 points , 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 10 blocks in a win over the Trail Blazers on Saturday. He also drained his 200th career 3-pointer in the game, reaching the milestone in just 94 appearances, which is faster than both Stephen Curry and James Harden.

Powell continues to shine in his increased role with the Clippers, putting together a very impressive week, posting at least 28 points in all three of his outings while also contributing across the stat sheet, averaging 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1 .7 steals per game.

Maxey opened the week with his second 40-point game of the season, finishing with 40 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in a win over the Hornets on Monday. He followed up with two more solid outings, averaging 30.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.0 steals over the three games.

Tatum has been fantastic this season. Nothing exemplifies that more than his latest performance, when he posted season-highs across the board with 43 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over the Bulls on Saturday. Tatum averaged 34.0 points, 12.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists over three games last week and remains on pace for one of the best seasons of his career.

Durant had just two games last week. Despite going winless, he put on an incredible showing, totaling 80 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists and three steals over the two outings. While his season has been marred by some injury issues, Durant is well on his way to averaging over 25 points per game. game for the 13th time in his career. If the Suns can manage to escape the injury bug during the season, they could emerge as a dark-horse contender, especially since the league has yet to see the team firing on all cylinders.

Beasley averaged 24.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals over three games last week, including a season-high 28 points in a win over the Heat on Monday. After a modest start to the season, Beasley appears to be on the rise with at least 20 points in 11 of his last 20 games.

Westbrook has had some impressive stretches already this season, but is coming off one of his better weeks, when he averaged 19.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 1, 0 blocks over three outings, including finishing a rebound short of a triple. double with 18 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists and three steals in a win over the Kings on Monday.

Murray put together one of his most productive weeks of the season, averaging 26.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 2.0 steals over three games. He tallied a minimum of 24 points in each outing, including a 24-point, 10-assist double-double in a loss to the Trail Blazers on Thursday.

Murphy averaged 25.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals as he topped 20 points in three consecutive appearances for the second time in 17 games since his Nov. 11 season debut. Unfortunately, he suffered an ankle injury and was forced to leave the game in the third quarter on Sunday after tallying 21 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 27 minutes of action. The severity of the injury is unknown at this time.

  • Jimmy Butler delivered one of the best stat lines of the season with 35 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals and 1 block in a loss to the Pistons on Monday.

  • Larry Nance Jr. set season highs in points and rebounds as he finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in a loss to the Spurs on Thursday.

  • Zach LaVine scored a season-high 36 points to go with 6 rebounds and 4 assists as he led the Bulls to a victory over the Celtics on Thursday.

  • Santi Aldama tallied 21 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block to help lead the Grizzlies to a 51-point victory over the Warriors on Thursday.

  • On Friday, Joel Embiid tallied 34 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in his return from a one-game injury layoff. He sat out the following game to rest, but is expected to play on Monday.

  • Bobby Portis started in place of Giannis Antetokounmpo and produced 34 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 1 block to lead the Bucks in a win over the Wizards on Saturday.

  • Cole Anthony totaled 35 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 24 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks to lead the Magic to a victory over the Heat on Saturday.

  • Kristaps Porziņģis tallied 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in a win over the Bulls on Saturday. Porziņģis is averaging 19.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.6 blocks over nine games since making his season debut on November 25.

  • Dillon Brooks topped 20 points in back-to-back games for the first time this season when he turned in 26 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal in a win over the Pelicans on Thursday, and he followed up with 27 points , six rebounds, two assists and three steals in a win over the Raptors on Sunday.