Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers made a big decision to help ice a critical win over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. The 7-foot-3

However, behind Wembanyama, the Spurs don't really have a high-level second option. Devin Vassell once flashed that potential, but after his lackluster start to the season, it's clear that his ceiling is as a third or fourth option on a good team.

The latter has turned around in a major way. Since Dec. 1, Wembanyama is making 37% of his 3s on over nine attempts per game. Put that together with his 77% finishing rate at the rim, which Cleaning the Glass ranks in the 86th percentile among all bigs, and Wembanyama already ranks as one of the most dominant inside-out scorers in the league.

According to the NBA's most recent MVP ladder, Wembanyama is fourth in the running to win the Michael Jordan Trophy, behind only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. His two dominant performances against Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are key reasons why he jumped ahead from the fifth spot, passing Jayson Tatum.

With 10:22 remaining in the first quarter, Wembanyama, with the ball near the top of the key, pump-faked a shot and got Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. to bite. Then, as if he was in a casual morning shootaround, Wembanyama took one dribble to his left and drilled a 28-foot, one-legged three-pointer as the crowd at the Fiserv Forum ooed and ahhed.

Milwaukee Bucks power forward Bobby Portis thinks that a recent foe, not his current two-time MVP teammate, is a contender to become the best defender in the history of the NBA. The 6-foot-10 Arkansas product,

The Bucks had a plan to make the second-year Spurs phenom uncomfortable. Antetokounmpo and his teammates executed that plan to perfection.

Giannis Antetokounmpo fell just short of back-to-back triple-doubles, but the Bucks remain red-hot from long range in an easy victory over the Spurs.

Being a top-level athlete demands exemplary rigor when it comes to diet. And when you're over 2m20 tall, that discipline has to be doubled. Victor Wembanyama is a true phenomenon, as much for his talent as for his unique way of playing basketball.

Official release • Support Southern California wildfire relief efforts NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association games scheduled for Saturday between the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.

Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and a career-high 28 rebounds and the Sacramento Kings used a fourth quarter rally to beat the Boston Celtics 114-97 on Friday night.