Starting 5, Feb. 13: Wemby gets rare triple-double, Wolves make a statement

The stars got All-Star week off to a 🔥 start on Monday:

Wemby: 27 pts, 14 reb, 10 blk, 5 ast

Giannis: 36 pts, 18 reb

Luka: 26 pts, 11 reb, 15 ast

Steph: 25 pts, 10 ast, 7 3s

Let’s catch you up and get you ready for a Tuesday that’ll see one of the game’s all-time biggest stars (and personalities) make history in Orlando.

THE LINEUP 🏀

1. 👀 Wemby STUFFs the stat sheet
2. 9️⃣ Sixers halt Cavs win streak at 9
3. 🏆 Shaq’s No. 32 is retired tonight
4. 🔗 Paolo & Chet back to back again
5. 📈 Book & Fox franchise changers

TNT Doubleheader: The top two picks in the 2022 draft meet when the Thunder visit the Magic (7:30 ET, see Section 4), followed by the Suns hosting the Kings in a matchup of elite guards (10 ET, see Section 4)

Honoring Shaq: Tonight, the man that “put the Magic on the map” becomes the first player to have his number retired (see Section 3)

1. WEMBY POSTS RARE TRIPLE-DOUBLE

Victor Wembanyama had the best game of his young NBA career on Monday, finishing with 27 points, 14 rebounds, a career-high 10 blocks, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 3-pointers in just 29 minutes in a 122-99 win over the Raptors. Recap

He became the first NBA player in more than three seasons to post a triple-double that included 10+ blocks.

But being Wemby, he couldn’t just do something rare, he had to do something never seen before.

Let’s break it down:

• 34: Wemby became the 34th player to record a 10+ block triple-double. Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo are tied for the most with 10 each, while former Spur David Robinson had nine
• 5: Wemby became the fifth player in history to have 25+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 10+ blocks, joining Hakeem (4x), Robinson, Kareem and Ralph Sampson (who is the only other rookie to do it)
• 4: Wemby became just the fourth rook to have a 10+ block triple-double, joining Robinson (3x), Sampson and Mark Eaton
• 3: Wemby became the third player to record a 10+ block triple-double while making a 3-pointer, joining Anthony Davis and Marcus Camby
• 1: Wemby is the only player do it with more than one 3-pointer

Quick start: The game’s opening sequence was a perfect indicator for what was to come as Wemby blocked Jakob Poeltl’s shot at the basket, then came down and drained a 3-pointer on the other end.

Elite company: Victor’s 10 blocks helped him pass 150 rejections in just his 48th NBA game. He became the fifth fastest player ever to reach 150 blocks, trailing only Manute Bol (35), Shaq (38) Alonzo Mourning (38) and Robinson (47).

2. ROUNDUP: SIXERS SNAP CAVS’ STREAK

The Cavs had a shot to be the first team this season to post a 10-game win streak, but despite a late 11-3 Cavs run to make it a one-point game twice in the final 15 seconds, the Sixers held on to snap Cleveland’s streak at nine, while also getting their second straight win after dropping eight of their previous nine.

In his third game with the Sixers, Buddy Hield put up 24 points with five 3s and eight assists. Philly also got 24 from Kelly Oubre Jr. and 22 and nine dimes from Tyrese Maxey. Recap

🌉 I got five on it: The Warriors pushed their win streak to five with a 129-107 win over Utah behind a combined 51 points and 10 3s from the Splash Bros. There have been 10 instances of a player making seven-plus 3s in three straight games; Curry (25 pts, 10 ast, 7 3s) now has half of them. Recap

🔮 Luka (passes) Magic: Doncic (26 pts, 11 reb, 15 ast) posted his 10th triple-double of the season – passing Magic Johnson for the third-most games with 25+ points, 15+ assists and 10+ rebounds – to lead the Mavs past the Wizards 112-104. Recap

🐺 Wolves make a statement: In a matchup between the West’s top two teams, the first-place Wolves delivered a decisive 121-100 win behind 23 points apiece from Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. Paul George became the Clippers all-time leader in 3-pointers made. Recap

🚀 Rockets win late vs. Knicks: Aaron Holiday hit two free throws with under a second left to hold off a Knicks comeback and send the Rockets to the 105-103 win. The shots came after Jalen Brunson was called for a foul beyond the 3-point line, which Crew Chief Ed Malloy said should not have been called in the pool report after the game. Prior to the foul call, Brunson had scored four points in the final minute to tie the game at 103-103. | Recap

• Malloy: “The offensive player was able to return to a normal playing position on the floor. The contact which occurred after the release of the ball therefore is incidental and marginal to the shot attempt and should not have been called.”

🐝 Hornets beat Pacers, win 2nd straight: Miles Bridges put up 20 pts, 10 reb and 7 ast, including this huge poster dunk, while Grant Williams chipped in 21 pts of his own, as Charlotte beat Indiana 111-102 to win back-to-back games for the first time since November. | Recap

🦌 Jokic, Giannis duel as Bucks win: Two of the last three MVPs put up big double-doubles – 36 pts and 18 reb for Giannis Antetokounmpo, 29 pts and 12 reb for Nikola Jokic – as Denver was held under 100 points for just the fifth time this season, 112-95. After ranking bottom-half in defense all year, the Bucks are seventh over their last seven. | Recap

🐂 Bulls win battle for 9th: DeMar DeRozan & Ayo Dosunmu put up 29 each as Chicago dropped Atlanta, 136-126, to take a two-game lead over ATL for ninth place in the East. | Recap

⚜️ Pelicans grind out win vs. Grizz: In a game where neither squad broke 100, Herb Jones put up 17 pts and Brandon Ingram had 16 – including a pair of clutch buckets down the stretch – to give New Orleans a 96-87 win. | Recap

3. THE BIG MINUTE: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT SHAQ’S JERSEY RETIREMENT

Magic retiring Shaq’s jersey: Tonight, when the Orlando Magic retire Shaquille O’Neal’s #32, one of the most generation-defining players in the history of the NBA will become the first player in franchise history to have a number retired.

• New flowers for Shaq: The No. 1 overall pick in the 1992 Draft and NBA75 Team member was a 15-time All-Star in his Hall of Fame career, including four times in Orlando – where he led the Magic to their first-ever NBA Finals in 1995
• Said CEO Alex Martins: “When someone asks who was the first player to officially put the Orlando Magic on the map, the answer is simple – Shaquille O’Neal.”

Dominant from Day One: Shaq put up a casual 23.4 points a night, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in his Rookie of the Year campaign, then put together one of the best careers of any NBA big man ever. Here’s how he did it.

• His debut: 12 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks.  He’s still the most recent player with those numbers to start their career
• Top 10 plays in Orlando: Yes, the time he pulled down the whole backboard is in there. But it’s only No. 5 … see ’em all here
• Career In Pics: For almost 20 years, the only thing that could make Shaq stand still were NBA photographers. See O’Neal run through his favorite images of his career

Big Talent, Big Personality: In 1992 the NBA welcomed a player who was part man, part child, part diesel, part force, part gentle, part serious, part comedy and all Shaqadocious. Read Shaun Powell’s Archive 75 essay on the man of many nicknames

4. BANCHERO & HOLMGREN, BACK TO BACK AGAIN

Twenty-nine years after Shaq became the first Orlando rookie to average 20+ pts, Paolo Banchero became the second.

Tonight, he and the guy drafted after him in 2022, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, square off for just the second time as pros when the Magic host the Thunder (7:30 ET, TNT) before Shaq’s ceremony.

Breakout Years For Both: If a breakout year for the reigning ROTY sounds strange, consider that Banchero just locked up an All-Star nod in his second season. Holmgren, the No. 2 player in NBA.com’s Kia Rookie Ladder, has played a starring role on one of the league’s top teams.

• Paolo Making Leaps: Banchero’s upped his scoring, distribution, efficiency and virtually all parts of his game in Year 2, after GMs picked him as one of the players most likely to break out this year
• Holmgren Making Impact: After missing all of last season with a foot injury, Holmgren’s on pace to become the eighth rookie to average 15+ blks & 2.5 ast (ninth rook if Wembanyama, who’s also on pace, does it first)
• Back-To-Back In PIE: Among players with 30+ mpg, Banchero and Holmgren have put up nearly identical Player Impact Estimate numbers this year – at 13.2 and 13.1, respectively.
• What’s PIE? A way to compare players’ overall contributions per minute, adding up the positive stats and subtracting for things like turnovers & fouls

We Meet Again: 2022’s top 2 picks have been squaring off for years, even before Banchero’s fifth-ranked Duke squad beat Holmgren’s No. 1 Gonzaga team in the fall of 2021. Two-plus years later, they hit the floor again as two of the league’s brightest rising stars.

• The First Meeting: The Thunder picked up a 112-100 win on Jan. 13 of this year, with Holmgren putting up 15 pts, 8 reb and 2 blks in the W. Banchero had 20-9-8 with 2 blk

5. BOOK & FOX AND THE RISE OF THE SUNS & KINGS

When the Kings and Suns meet tonight (10 ET, TNT), so will two Kentucky-groomed, superstar guards who set out years ago to elevate their franchises – and now star for teams eyeing the NBA’s biggest prize.

Booker vs. Fox: Devin Booker and De’Aaron Fox both played for University of Kentucky teams that hit No. 1. Then, after being drafted into the NBA – Booker, 13th overall to the Suns in 2015, and Fox, 5th overall to the Kings in 2017 – they both spent half a decade out of the playoffs.

Into The Archive: Just after being drafted, Fox and Booker talked about being agents of change.

• Booker In 2015: “What I love about the game of basketball is the passion and energy you can bring to the floor … and how you can affect other people’s lives just by playing the game that you love.”
• Fox In 2017: ‘I wanna be that vocal leader, but also someone who can lead by example. … I think that I’ll be able to change the culture in Sacramento.” 

Two Transformations: Booker’s Suns have more than doubled their win percentage from those first five years, while Fox’s Kings are nearly 50% better. Both of them are at the heart of the change.

• Fox ranks first in assists since 1985-86, when the Sacramento era began, and fourth in points. And as the Kings have gone from 158-232 in Fox’s first 5 seasons, to 78-56 over the last one and a half, the reigning Clutch Performer of the Year has been a driving force
• Book has scored in bunches since being drafted, and now ranks third in Suns’ total points – just 17 away from passing Alvan Adams for second. As the Suns have gone from a 30% win percentage in his first five years to 66.1% since then, he’s added layers to his game – on pace for career-highs in points and assists this year

One Of Two West Quartets: Going into Tuesday, just half a game separates the Suns (31-22) and Kings (30-22) between sixth and seventh place in the West – a conference with two separate packs of four teams separated by less than a game.