Victor Wembanyama's extraterrestrial feat proves he's truly out of this world

Just six weeks remain before the NBA playoffs, and the San Antonio Spurs are looking increasingly like the real deal. Especially with their third-ranked defense, which is helping them grind out wins.

Make no mistake, Victor Wembanyama is fueling their defensive success. During the Spurs' undefeated February, they had several strong defensive showings with him dominating.

They recently shut down the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors, particularly in the fourth quarter, with Wembanyama playing suffocating defense.

That was on full display against the Raptors when he was essentially in two places at once on defense. He was placed on Scottie Barnes and managed to keep him out of the paint and shut down his pull-up game while also cutting off passing lanes. Unreal.

However, that's not out of the ordinary for Wembanyama. His ridiculous height and length change the dynamic of the half court and make it tougher for teams to deliver passes or even take shots in his general area.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst was quick to point that out on a recent podcast. He mentioned that a former coach stated that Wembanyama was the only player who could guard the rim and the corner three at the same time. He isn't kidding.

Victor Wembanyama can amazingly guard two players at once

Against the Houston Rockets, Wembanyama obliterated their offensive attack in the fourth quarter by guarding Amen Thompson. Thompson's lack of shooting made that possible, and the Rockets countered by having Alperen Şengün screen and roll.

Of course, Wembanyama shut down that action with his length, allowing him to contest a potential Thompson pull-up mid-range jumper. Wemby's size and wingspan also made it impossible for Thompson to find a rolling Şengün.

The obvious counter would be to force him away from the paint, but Coach Mitch Johnson has found a clever workaround. Most playoff teams have a big man who mostly hangs out around the rim.

The Los Angeles Lakers have Deandre Ayton; the Minnesota Timberwolves have Rudy Gobert; and the Oklahoma City Thunder have Isaiah Hartenstein.

But when the Thunder go small with only Chet Holmgren, instead of guarding his nemesis, Johnson has Wemby guard Lu Dort or Alex Caruso. That allows him to play off them. Neither player is a great shooter, letting Wembanyama lurk in the paint and guard two players at once.