LATEST NEWS: Wembanyama makes his first stop in Toronto to continue his remarkable rookie season.

This Monday’s matchup is an exception to the rule, as two teams who have combined for 29 wins and 75 defeats this season should not be seen.

This is due to the fact that the San Antonio Spurs will only be in Toronto once this season, giving Canadian basketball fans a single opportunity to witness the incredible Victor Wembanyama up close during his historic rookie year. Wembanyama, who only turned 20 last month, is averaging 20.3 points, 10 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 81% free-throw shooting, and an NBA-best three blocks a night in 47 games.

Since LeBron James, the most anticipated sports prospect has lived up to the hype—and then some.

At nearly 7 feet 4 inches tall, the Frenchman is far from merely a showman; he has accepted attention while maintaining his modesty. On a club that, until recently, experimented at point guard rather than starting a real floor general, he has had to cope with losing most of the time, but he has managed to get better as his rookie campaign has progressed. Wembanyama had a fantastic January, taking over the rookie of the year competition from the outstanding big man Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder by averaging 24 points per game on 51% shooting.

Wembanyama has increased his three-point shooting percentage from the 30% he had averaged from October to January to 45.5%, despite a little fall in his performance in his last five games in February. Wembanyama would rank among the most dangerous offensive players in the league even if he just manages to shoot 38% from outside the field on a regular basis.

He has emerged as one of the top defenders right away. He also has an opportunity to become one of just 11 rookies to average between 20 and 10 points since Larry Bird accomplished it in 1979–1980; he would be the third big man from the Spurs to do so. The club was extremely fortunate to select David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and Wembanyama with the first overall pick. And without a doubt, Wemby would become the youngest rookie to record such statistics.

Wembanyama may be catching up to the length of the NBA season, though, as San Antonio has dropped seven straight games. As a result, there’s no assurance he will join that group.

During the first half of Saturday’s loss in Brooklyn, Wembanyama was incredibly silent and did not collect any early steals, blocks, rebounds, or assists. Two days after astonishingly pulling down just one against the Orlando Magic, he finished with just four rebounds. Although Boban Marjanovic and I believe that five rebounds in 52 minutes is an odd number for the tallest player in the NBA, Wembanyama deserves a pass because he has already surpassed all expectations. It’s also worth noting that he had 13, 14, and 14 rebounds in the three games prior to these most recent two.

“I see it in everyone, but it’s the same with almost every team,” Gregg Popovich, the head coach of the Spurs, said to reporters in Brooklyn. “It’s hard, these dog days.” On this road trip, I was curious to see how we would respond while driving. I believe that this is the fourth weekend with three games in four nights, which is difficult in addition to the road trip for the rodeo. They must make an effort to persevere through it. We’re finding it a little difficult to move past that.

“All of our bodies are impacted, so yeah, the challenge is going through that, making those extra efforts, even though we don’t feel (great),” Wembanyama said to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News.

“Obviously, compared to the start of the season, we’re going to jump a little bit lower and run a little bit slower.”

However, even 80% of Wembanyama is still superior to the majority of his rivals. Being this influential as a rookie isn’t typical for them. Wembanyama has demonstrated his versatility by recording more blocks and three-pointers made through his first 31 games than defensive greats like Dikembe Mutombo and Duncan. He is also the youngest player to record a 20-point, 20-rebound game and the second youngest player to record a triple-double.

Wembanyama is a solo performance. On Monday night, the Raptors will need to come up with solutions. I hope the game lives up to the memory of the one in San Antonio back in November. Wembanyama scored twenty points in that game, but Toronto came back to win in overtime after trailing by twenty-two points.