X eruption recognizes unique talent in Spurs National TV thriller

The San Antonio Spurs just had their best game of the season... in a loss. That’s not hyperbole. You might be thinking to yourself, “That's a low bar to clear, the Spurs are 5-29.” While that may be true, the good guys battled down to the wire—the game ended after Tre Jones saw his game-tying three-pointer roll off of the rim—against one of the best teams in the league, the Milwaukee Bucks. That this game occurred on national television made the environment even greater.

San Antonio’s two best players (Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell) proved that they belonged on the floor with the Bucks stars (two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and seven-time All-NBA Damian Lillard). Devo hit tough shots all night and ended up with the second-most points in one of the best games of his career with 34 (on 6-9 shooting from three). Wemby put up 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks— and that stat line doesn’t even do his performance justice.

As punctuated by the clip above, Wembanyama and the Spurs were doing things all game that set the internet ablaze. The fact that this was the only contest at the time (Bucks-Spurs was followed up by Nuggets-Warriors as the TNT double-header) meant that the entire basketball community was tuned in. Even in the loss, the Silver & Black lived up to the hype. Let’s take a look at some of Twitter’s best reactions to the riveting game:

First, here are a couple of other wild plays by Victor that have already compiled 4+ million views

Next, Tweets about the poetry of the basketball that we witnessed and some fun Wemby/Giannis comparisons

Finally, more props to Wemby, both for being a great talent and a better teammate

Needless to say, the Spurs put on an incredible performance. Nothing but respect for Giannis, Dame, and the Bucks, who ended up walking away with the win. Antetokounmpo finished with an absolutely insane 44-point, 14-rebound line (aided by the fact that Wemby was the only Spur over 6’9” to touch the floor tonight). But tonight felt a bit like San Antonio reintroducing themselves to the basketball world. They’ve lost a lot—and likely will continue to lose—but they can compete with anybody and will put up highlights that get people talking (or posting on the internet) while they’re at it.