On Wednesday evening, the San Antonio Spurs lost a home game to the Golden State Warriors. While it is never ideal to lose in your own building, the loss was far from devastating for the Spurs, in part because San Antonio remains 8-3 this season. In addition, Golden State hasn't lived up to its preseason billing, but the Warriors remain a dangerous team when the squad's stars are available to play.
With that as the backdrop, Victor Wembanyama left a massive imprint on the proceedings. When it comes to the box score, the 21-year-old center was clearly dominant, putting up 31 points on 11-22 shooting, 3-7 from 3-point range, and 6-6 at the free throw line. He also added a game-high 15 rebounds, and Wembanyama had his first double-digit assist game of the 2025-26 campaign.
Oddly, he only blocked one shot in the game, perhaps leading someone who did not watch the action to assume that he did not have his usual defensive impact. In short, that would not be the case, and one single play made its way around the internet in a hurry to illustrate Wembanyama's massive appeal on that end of the floor.
No one can do what Victor Wembanyama can
Victor Wembanyama was everywhere on this defensive possession. pic.twitter.com/gM325TNZlq
— Steve Jones (@stevejones20) November 13, 2025
With the Spurs trailing by six points and less than four minutes to go, Wembanyama began the possession defending Draymond Green and quickly switched on to Stephen Curry after a high screen. Then, Wembanyama stuck to Curry, chasing him around a screen and well beyond the 3-point line in a way that most centers simply cannot do. From there, another action was initiated, with Wembanyama then switching back to Green, forcing the future Hall of Fame big man to kick the ball out to Gary Payton II at an inopportune time. Finally, Wembanyama challenged Payton's scoop shot and forced a wild miss.
In the end, Wembanyama would not appear in the box score for this play in any fashion. He did not block a shot. He did not grab the defensive rebound. But, in the middle, he did basically everything else that a player can do and plenty of things that a player his size has essentially never been able to do on an NBA court.
As of Thursday, Nov. 13, the Spurs have a 111.4 defensive rating for the season, ranking No. 6 in the NBA in overall efficiency on that end of the floor. That alone is illustrative of Wembanyama's defensive impact, and he remains the NBA's leader in blocked shots, averaging 3.6 per game. However, the Spurs are utterly dominant on defense with Wembanyama present, and the on-off splits paint that picture.
When he plays, the Spurs allow fewer than 1.05 points per possession. When he doesn't, that jumps to 1.18 points per possession. Obviously, it is quite early in the season to make sweeping declarations in any direction, but the combination of stats and the eye test tell the story of Wembanyama's defense. It can't be fully illustrated by one play but, if any observer needed a reminder of his utterly unique skill set, this play provided it.