VICTOR WEMBANYAMA TOOK his seat behind a small table inside the Phoenix Suns‘ visitors media room.
The San Antonio Spurs had just given up a 27-point lead to the Suns before Wembanyama himself led a furious effort in the final four minutes to secure an 11-point victory on Nov. 2.
Two nights prior against the same Suns in Phoenix, the Spurs trailed by as many as 20 points before storming back to win on a layup by Keldon Johnson with 1.2 seconds left. It was San Antonio’s only lead in a 115-114 win.
Just five games into his NBA career, Wembanyama was asked what he’d learned about the league.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned,” the then-19-year-old phenom said after the two wins against the Suns, “is a 20-point lead is nothing.”
His words proved prescient when the Spurs returned home three days later and jumped out to a 22-point lead against the Toronto Raptors, looking to string together a three-game winning streak. But as they had done in the second game against Phoenix, the Spurs let the lead slip away, and this time they lost in overtime 123-116.
In three games, the Spurs overcame a 20-point deficit, watched a 27-point lead disappear but came back to win, then watched a 22-point lead vanish completely in a loss.
It’d be easy to chalk this stretch up to San Antonio being one of the league’s youngest — and worst, based on the standings — teams, but the Spurs are far from the only team blowing 20-point leads this season. In fact, with more than a month left to play, 2023-24 has already seen the second-most 20-point come-from-behind victories in a single season since 1996-97, when play-by-play data began being recorded.
It took Wembanyama two weeks to learn what everyone in the NBA has realized: No lead is safe.
IN THE FINAL regular-season meeting on Feb. 28 between the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers as co-tenants at Crypto.com Arena, the Clippers took a 21-point lead 15 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Such a lead used to mean a guaranteed win, but not on this night.
LeBron James outscored the Clippers 19-16 in the final 12 minutes, leading the Lakers to a 116-112 victory. The 21-point margin marked the largest James has overcome in the fourth quarter in his 21-year career.
“I don’t think that’s ever happened in my career since I’ve been coaching to lose a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters following the game. “But LeBron got hot.”
Whether it’s one player…
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