Victor Wembanyama led the San Antonio Spurs past the Oklahoma City Thunder to even the Western Conference finals at 2-2 on Sunday. The Frenchman, however, is not celebrating just yet. After all, the job's not finished.
Oklahoma City had zero answers for the 7-foot-4 superstar. Wembanyama eradicated the defending champions on both ends of the floor, finishing with 33 points on 11-of-22 shooting. He added eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks across 40 minutes.
But do not expect him to ease up until he claims his ultimate goal of winning an NBA Championship.
"We had never been in this kind of situation before," he said post-game, as relayed by Spurs reporter Tom Petrini of SI. "It was our first deficit in the playoff series, and we just responded. It was nothing amazing, it wasn't magic, we just did what we needed to do. And the series is far from over. We got 6 more wins before we can rest."
Wembanyama has gone ballistic against the reigning champions. He set the tone in Game 1 with a historic 41-point, 24-rebound performance. The Frenchman has not let his foot off the gas since. Through four games, he is averaging 30.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.0 blocks.
The motivation runs deeper than the series. Wembanyama finished third in NBA Most Valuable Player voting. Watching Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander claim his second straight MVP award during Game 1 ceremonies added extra fuel to the fire.
The Spurs were on Oklahoma City's throat from the opening tip in Game 4. San Antonio ignited a 16-0 first-quarter run and pushed the advantage to 25 points at its peak. Wembanyama got help from Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle, who each contributed 13 points. De'Aaron Fox added 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
The Spurs will go as far as Wembanyama takes them this postseason. Right now, he is not showing any signs of slowing down.
