Dusty May Stunned by Wembanyama’s 23 Free Throws and 52 Points

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama attempted 23 free throws against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.

Mavericks coach Dusty May, in his first season as an NBA head coach, said that is a lot.

"That's a lot, that's a lot. So, no, I'm new to this," May said.

Wembanyama made 19 of those free throws.

He finished with career highs of 52 points and 24 rebounds in the San Antonio Spurs' 112-111 win at Frost Bank Center.

His previous career high was 50 points against the Washington Wizards on Nov. 13, 2024.

Wembanyama shot 16-of-28 from the field and 1-of-8 from three.

He blocked 8 shots.

He had 2 steals and 2 assists in 34 minutes and 4 seconds.

San Antonio was plus-23 with him on the floor.

The Spurs were minus-22 in the 13 minutes and 56 seconds he sat.

Wembanyama scored 10 of San Antonio's first 12 points on two dunks and six free throws.

By the end of the first quarter, he had 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

At halftime, he had 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks.

All 15 of his free-throw attempts in the first half fell.

The Associated Press reported that he became the first player since the NBA's play-by-play era began in 1996-97 with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks in a half.

Inside the final four minutes of the second quarter, he blocked three shots on one Dallas possession.

The three shots came from Cooper Flagg, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford.

The Spurs went to the break ahead 68-51.

Kyrie Irving said Wembanyama seemed to be at the free-throw line the whole first half.

Irving said his aggression has been rising over the past few games.

"He's so tall. I mean, it's definitely a challenge. He poses the same challenge for every team," Irving said.

"I feel like we matched up pretty well, but tonight he got it going. It's going to be nights like this where some of the best players in the world, they're going to make it difficult on you. Got to the free-throw line. It seemed like he was at the free-throw line the whole first half, and he was making an impact for his team."

"You can see his aggression has been raising over the past few games as well. His teammates are supporting him," Irving continued.

"And that's the Western Conference champs right there until another champion's crowned. So gotta give them their respect, but obviously we know what we can do to compete with them and eventually win the game against them."

Nine of Wembanyama's 24 rebounds came on the offensive end.

San Antonio's wings went to the glass aggressively, May said, and it took all five Mavericks on the floor to finish possessions.

Before the game, May had detailed the challenge the Spurs present.

"I think they have a really unique scheme on both sides of the ball that play to their personnel well," May said.

"They've evolved and developed this thing that's different than a lot of teams. And so they challenge, you can't come in and just do what you normally do. You have to be able to counter what they do."

Through seven games, Wembanyama is averaging 25.7 points and 10.7 rebounds a night.

His 4.0 blocks per game lead the league.

On Oct. 31, he scored 43 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The NBA named him the Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday.

De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and Devin Vassell start alongside him.

That group combined for 71 points, 25 assists, and 10 steals in the first meeting on Oct. 24.

Fox had 19 points and 9 assists.

Castle had 19 points and 8 assists.

Harper scored 22.

Vassell added 11 points and 6 assists.

Wembanyama finished with 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 28 minutes and 55 seconds in that game.

"I'm most impressed with their defensive intensity and how connected they are on that side of the ball," May explained.

"Obviously, they're extremely potent offensively and they've got a lot of answers. But defensively, every possession is a challenge. They push off your spots. They fight for every pass. It's tough. And so the tenacity they play with, the amount of guard depth and size and length, and you factor that in with shot making, they're a tough cover, obviously."

Off the bench, Julian Champagnie scored 12 points with 3 blocks.

San Antonio was without Tobias Harris (calf) and rookie Jayden Quaintance (knee) on Wednesday.

Dallas played the Oct. 24 game at American Airlines Center without Cooper Flagg, who had a left shoulder sprain, and Kyrie Irving, who rested.

Flagg has since returned and credited May for his strong start.

"It's been great," Flagg said.

"He watched a ton of film from last year and knows my game pretty well. So just whatever he's seeing where he wants to put me, it's working really well."

The Mavericks have gotten off to a 4-3 start to the season.

Flagg, 20, is on pace for his first career All-Star selection.

He's appeared in six of the Mavericks' seven games at a little over 33 minutes per game.

The former Duke star is averaging 25.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.0 blocked shots with splits of 48.6 percent shooting from the field, 23.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 88.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

Last season, Jason Kidd took flak for playing Flagg at point guard, an experiment that only lasted a handful of games.