Don't be surprised if Victor Wembanyama is a defensive force almost immediately.
While it's rare for rookies to be impact defenders, Wembanyama has already proven himself to be a special talent on that end of the court. He's a massive presence at 7-4 with an 8-foot wingspan, and he's coming off of a season in which he was named the best defender of France's LNB Pro A league as a teenager.
The NBA is different from the Pro A league, of course, but Wembanyama averaged a league-best 2.8 blocks per game in preseason. He recorded five blocks in one game alone.
Wembanyama will make his highly anticipated debut with the Spurs on Wednesday when San Antonio faces Dallas. Could he challenge the record for most blocks in a debut? Here's how many he'd have to record.
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Who has the most blocks in an NBA debut?
The record for most blocks in an NBA debut is owned by Shawn Bradley.
On Nov. 5, 1993, Bradley helped the 76ers defeat the Bullets by blocking a game-high eight shots. He had more blocks than points (6) and rebounds (5) against Washington.
Greg Stiemsma and Roy Hinson are the only other players in NBA history to block five or more shots in their debut. A large group of players blocked four shots in their first NBA game, a list that includes Dwight Howard, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Paul Pierce.
Here's the list of most blocks in an NBA debut, per Stathead:
| Rank | Player | Blocks | Year |
| 1. | Shawn Bradley | 8 | 1993 |
| 2. | Greg Stiemsma | 6 | 2011 |
| 3. | Roy Hinson | 5 | 1983 |
| 4. | Tom Burleson | 4 | 1974 |
| Bill Garnett | 4 | 1982 | |
| Rudy Gay | 4 | 2006 | |
| Dwight Howard | 4 | 2004 | |
| Magic Johnson | 4 | 1979 | |
| Michael Jordan | 4 | 1984 | |
| Luke Kornet | 4 | 2018 | |
| Alan Ogg | 4 | 1991 | |
| Norvel Pelle | 4 | 2019 | |
| Paul Pierce | 4 | 1999 | |
| Ralph Sampson | 4 | 1983 | |
| Greg Smith | 4 | 2012 | |
| Bill Walton | 4 | 1974 | |
| Sean Williams | 4 | 2007 |
Bradley went on to average 3.0 blocks per game as a rookie, the sixth-most ever by a player in their first season. Manute Bol holds the blocks record for a rookie with a whopping 5.0 per game.
The most blocks a rookie has averaged since 2000 is 2.5, done by Joel Embiid.
