SAS 139, DAL 120: Victor Wembanyama Leads SAS to Comfortable Win
Jake Morrison
Computer Science Student ยท Dallas Mavericks fan
Victor Wembanyama Just Reminded Everyone He's Built Different
Look, I'm still mad about this one because it's a Mavs loss and I live and die with Dallas, but I gotta give the devil his due: Victor Wembanyama just put on a masterclass that makes you remember why he's All-Defensive and All-NBA. The Spurs beat us 139-120, and their unicorn was basically unstoppable all night.
Here's the box score damage:
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor Wembanyama | 77.0 | 70.1 | 40/13/5 | 24.8/11.5/3.1 | +15.2 |
| Cooper Flagg | 49.0 | 45.7 | 33/6/5 | 21.0/6.7/4.6 | +12.0 |
| Julian Champagnie | 38.0 | 32.9 | 14/7/1 | 11.1/5.8/1.6 | +2.9 |
| De'Aaron Fox | 37.0 | 32.2 | 18/1/10 | 18.5/3.8/6.1 | -0.5 |
| Moussa Cisse | 32.0 | 31.6 | 7/8/0 | 4.1/5.2/0.2 | +2.9 |
| Dwight Powell | 31.0 | 30.7 | 4/11/5 | 3.3/3.8/1.0 | +0.7 |
| Dylan Harper | 28.0 | 27.8 | 13/4/6 | 11.8/3.4/3.9 | +1.2 |
| Keldon Johnson | 26.0 | 26.0 | 17/5/2 | 13.1/5.4/1.4 | +3.9 |
| Ryan Nembhard | 26.0 | 24.7 | 13/1/7 | 6.4/2.1/4.9 | +6.6 |
| Max Christie | 25.0 | 22.2 | 16/1/2 | 12.2/3.3/2.0 | +3.8 |
The Wembanyama Reality Check
Victor went 14-23 from the field and 10-11 from the line for 40 points. That's not a hot night, that's a statement. He added 13 boards and 5 assists in just 26 minutes, putting up 70.1 Yahoo points and finishing +15.2 on his season average. When a 7'4" center is knocking down 61% from deep and hitting everything at the line, there's not much you can do defensively. He was hunting mismatches and punishing us for it.
The fantasy takeaway here is actually important: Wembanyama is still your top-15 asset in any league format. Yes, he had an elite scoring night, but the efficiency and role consistency are what matter. He's going to get his 24-25 points, 11-12 boards, and defensive stats night in and night out. If you own him, feel good. If you don't, he's going to remain unavailable in most leagues.
The Flagg Problem (for San Antonio)
On the flip side, Cooper Flagg went absolutely nuclear for Dallas with 33 points on 13-25 shooting to go with 6 boards and 5 assists. That's 45.7 Yahoo FP, exactly +12.0 above his season average. This kid is becoming a legitimate weapon, and that's not hyperbole. He's putting up 21 points per night as a prospect, but on nights like this, he proves he can go into another gear.
Here's the thing though: we lost by 19. Flagg's 45-point night and the Mavs still got cooked. When your best performer nearly hits 46 and you lose that decisively, something's broken. For fantasy purposes, hold Flagg tight if you have him, but understand that tonight showed both his ceiling and the ceiling of what one player can do against a fully-operational Spurs squad.
The Depth Difference
San Antonio's next five after Wembanyama were all solid contributors: Julian Champagnie (32.9 Yahoo FP), De'Aaron Fox (32.2), Dylan Harper (27.8), and Keldon Johnson (26.0). That's balanced, predictable scoring. For Dallas, after Flagg, it was basically a rotation of deep bench guys. Moussa Cisse hit 31.6 (insane value for a guy averaging 4.1 points), Dwight Powell went 30.7, then it drops off.
This tells me the Spurs' roster construction is just cleaner right now. Multiple guys can contribute 25+ FP any given night. Dallas is leaning too heavy on Flagg and role players who are hitting one night and ice cold the next.
Waiver Wire Noise
Marvin Bagley III is being added in some leagues after this game, but he only played 8 minutes and scored 4.7 Yahoo FP. Don't get cute here. Same goes for Harrison Barnes on the Spurs side - he had a decent 18.9 FP game but that's not a pattern changer.
The actual add is Ryan Nembhard. The Mavs guard put up 24.7 Yahoo FP with 7 assists in 30 minutes. He's been getting run lately and if there's gonna be a ball handler step up in Dallas's rotation, it's him. Worth a speculative add in 12-team leagues.
The Bad Beat
Yeah, I'm taking this loss personally. We had Flagg going off and still got run by 19 at home. Wembanyama was too much, and our bench was basically unplayable. If you had both Flagg and Wembanyama in your league, you probably broke even at best. If you had just Wembanyama, this was a huge night. If you had just Dallas guys not named Flagg, you got cooked.
This is why depth matters in fantasy. Tonight proved it.