The No. 3 pick set an NBA record in 1979 and still missed the best! Because the Wen class scored 2 No. 1 picks with 40+15

The second game day of the NBA regular season was in full swing, with 12 duels taking place one after another. The league's stars seemed to have made an agreement, and they all used their best skills to beat the Knicks: Mitchell scored 21 points in a single quarter and led the team to beat the Knicks, Edwards directed a reversal with a key ball, Maxi scored 40 points to beat the Celtics, and Antetokounmpo easily handed over the luxury data of 37+14. But after everyone watched the Spurs' 125-92 victory over the Mavericks, the discussion about "Today's Best" instantly lost its suspense.

In the Cavaliers' game against the Knicks, Mitchell once again performed his famous scene as the "King of the Final Quarter". The Cavaliers trailed by up to 15 points in the first half. In the third quarter, Mitchell suddenly broke out and scored 21 points in a row on 9 of 14 shots, including 4 unreasonable three-pointers. He abruptly tied the 87-72 deficit to 87. He finished the game with 31 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. On an ordinary game day, such a point-chasing performance would definitely make him a strong contender for the best player. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers failed to hold on to their advantage in the end and lost the game 111-119. Mitchell's highlights were also diminished with the loss.

In the Timberwolves' reversal of the Trail Blazers, Edwards continued his strength from last season. Although he "only" scored 41 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist in the game, as the core of the team, his performance in the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter directly determined the outcome: first he broke through and assisted Gobert to complete a dunk, then he held the ball and forced a foul and made two free throws. Finally, he stole and counterattacked to score. One set of operations directly took away the game. Such key ball ability makes him an absolute contributor to the Timberwolves' victory.

In the strong dialogue between the 76ers and the Celtics, Maxi's performance was called "magic level". Facing the Green Army's iron-blooded defense, he scored 40 points and 6 assists on 15 of 27 shots. He scored 19 points in the second quarter to break through the Green Army's substitute defense. He scored 15 points in the final quarter. He withstood the pressure and hit a fadeaway jumper in the last 10 seconds to help the team win 117-116. You know, the Green Army's defensive efficiency ranked among the top three in the league last season. Being able to score 40 points in front of such an opponent is really valuable.

Coincidentally, VJ Edgecombe, the No. 3 overall pick of the 76ers, made his NBA debut. In the first quarter, he played 11 minutes and made 5 of 9 shots, including 3 of 6 three-pointers and 1 of 2 free throws. He contributed 14 points and 2 assists, setting a new first-quarter scoring record for a rookie in NBA history. The previous record was held by James, who scored 12 points in the first quarter of his NBA career debut on October 29, 2003. In addition, Edgecombe started the game for 42 minutes, making 13 of 26 shots, 5 of 13 three-pointers, and 3 of 6 free throws. He scored a total of 34 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. He became the first rookie in the 21st century to score 30+ points in the season opener. He also set a new high for a rookie's debut score in the history of the 76ers.

In the Bucks' game against the Wizards, Antetokounmpo was still in "Greek Monster" mode, with luxurious statistics of 37 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. In the third quarter, he scored 12 points in a single quarter, using continuous attacks to the basket and fast-break dunks to completely break down the Wizards' defense. He showed the strength of the league's top superstars on both offense and defense, helping the Bucks easily defeat the Wizards 133-120.

In addition, the Grizzlies' Morant scored 35 points and 3 assists, leading the team to reverse the Pelicans from an 18-point deficit; the Magic's Benqueiro and Wagner both scored 24 points, teaming up to overturn the Heat; the Raptors' Barrett and Barnes scored 47 points together, leading the team to a 20-point victory over the Hawks. It is no exaggeration to say that the NBA arena on this day was "starry". The performance of any star would be enough for fans to talk about it for a long time.

But even so, when Bunyama's game data and on-field performance came out, all discussions came to an abrupt end. The Spurs challenged the Mavericks on the court. It was originally regarded by the outside world as a talent showdown between the old and new top picks, but it turned out to be a "personal show" for the literary class. He only played 29 minutes and 40 seconds in the entire game, not even 30 minutes, but he handed over a data sheet that is astonishing: 15 of 21 shots, a field goal percentage of 71.4%, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 9 of 11 free throws, 40 points, 15 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 blocks. What is even more outrageous is that there were 0 turnovers in the game, and the plus-minus value was as high as +31.

You may not have an idea just by looking at the data. You have to combine the game process to know how unsolvable he is. Wen Ban on the defensive end is also a "nightmare" existence. His height and wingspan prevented the Mavericks players from attacking the inside easily. He blocked or interfered with his attempts to hit the ball several times. In the end, he could only shoot from the outside. He made only 7 of 22 shots from the field, with a shooting rate as low as 31.8%. Flagg even subconsciously passed the ball when he saw Wenban during the breakthrough, making three mistakes in the game. According to statistics, Wenban is the third player in the past 40 years to score at least 40 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks and 0 turnovers in a single game. The previous two were O'Neal and Nong Mei.

He also became the 6th player in NBA history to score at least 40 points and 15 rebounds in the first game of the season. The first five players were Chamberlain, Karl Malone, Bob, Bellamy and Baylor, which is enough to illustrate the historical status of this game.

In addition, this game also has a special significance. It is the first head-to-head confrontation between the 2023 No. 1 pick Bunyama and the 2025 new No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg. Before the game, the outside world was still discussing which of the two was the "future of the league." After the game, the answer was obvious. Flagg played 31 minutes in this game, made 4 of 13 shots, only scored 10 points and 10 rebounds, shot 30.8% from the field, and made 3 turnovers. In the first half, he made 0 of 2 shots in 17 minutes and failed to score a point. Facing Wenban's defense, he couldn't find the offensive rhythm at all. Several attempts to break through failed, and in the end he could only blindly shoot from the outside. As the "reconstruction core" that the Mavericks have high hopes for, this performance is obviously unsatisfactory..

In a "star show" like the second day of NBA play, Bunyama used an impeccable game to give the only answer to "who is the best". Historical data of 40 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks, a super high efficiency of 71.4%, absolute dominance on both ends of the offense and defense, plus a comprehensive crushing of the new No. 1 pick, this performance can no longer be described as "surprise", but "shock". The highlights of other stars are certainly wonderful, but few can be like Wenban, who can achieve the ultimate in both offense and defense, and can also rewrite historical records. As the fans joked after the game: "When voting for the best player, Wen Ban is the only option, and everyone else is a companion."