Thunder’s Jalen Williams says obvious part about Victor Wembanyama out loud

Is Victor Wembanyama’s reign of terror upon the NBA? Perhaps. It sure looked that way on Monday after Wembanyama put up 41 points, 24 rebounds, and three blocks to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 122-115 double overtime win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the 2026 Western Conference Finals.

Wembanyama played 49 minutes and put up an all-important plus-minus of plus-16, as his mere presence on the court gave the Spurs such a huge advantage on both ends of the floor. The Thunder had to rely on Alex Caruso to guard Wembanyama, who is quite literally giving up 11 inches to the Spurs star, and on offense, OKC had to make sure to keep him out of the action to avoid running into him at the rim.

The Spurs star’s physical gifts combined with his skill make him such a terror to have to deal with, and Thunder star Jalen Williams put how impactful Wembanyama truly is in a succinct statement.

“[He affects us] a lot. He’s like 8 feet,” Williams said, via Oh No He Didn’t on X (formerly Twitter).

JDub on if Wemby's presence affects the team:

"A lot. He's like 8 feet" pic.twitter.com/EvpnzVFTUM

— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) May 19, 2026

Wembanyama’s listed height is at 7’4″, but he’s not the typical lumbering, paint-bound big man. He can shoot threes, like he did to tie the game at 108 when he uncorked a long bomb from near the logo in the dying seconds of overtime, and he can shuffle his feet defensively — not leaving him tied to just defending the paint.

The Thunder got rolled on the glass, giving up 21 more boards to the Spurs (61-40). But OKC could not play Isaiah Hartenstein for long stretches, as leaving someone who can’t space the floor in the game means that Wembanyama can just sit in the paint.

However, the downside is that this leaves the Spurs star as the most dominant presence on the glass, especially with Chet Holmgren unable to assert himself.

This just means that head coach Mark Daigneault has his work cut out for him as the reigning champions try to solve the problem that is Wembanyama.

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