Magic Johnson watched Victor Wembanyama torch the New York Knicks for 32 points in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, and he could not resist pointing out exactly where the 22-year-old French superstar still ranks in the all-time pecking order. Specifically, behind Magic himself.
Wembanyama finished Monday’s Spurs win with 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Those numbers made him the second-youngest player ever to record at least 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in an NBA Finals game.
The youngest was Magic, who put up 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists in Game 6 of the 1980 Finals as a 20-year-old rookie playing center because Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was injured. That game is one of the most famous individual performances in basketball history, and it ended with the Lakers winning the title.
Magic took to X to congratulate Wembanyama, and the wording was telling. “I was in awe of Victor Wembanyama’s performance tonight, not only did he score 32 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, he also became the 2nd youngest player to have 30, 5 and 5 in the victory over the Knicks on their home court (behind some kid who played for the Lakers).”
The “some kid who played for the Lakers” line is vintage Magic. He has earned every bit of the right to throw a subtle elbow at any young player trying to climb into his record book.
Wembanyama is the more interesting long-term subject here. He just put up that line on the road in his first NBA Finals appearance, against a Knicks team that was supposed to be one win away from going up 3-0. The series is now 2-1, and the Spurs have life. If Wembanyama plays like this again in Game 4, the conversation about whether he is already the best player in the world stops being a conversation and starts being an answer.
Magic will keep his record for the youngest 30-5-5 Finals night. The version of Wembanyama that exists in five years might rewrite a lot of others.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
