Victor Wembanyama's Defensive Mastery Leads Spurs to Game 1 Victory Over Thunder

Late in Monday night's Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, a beleaguered Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dribbled tentatively into the mouth of San Antonio's defensive zone. That zone had been total hell for the two-time reigning MVP.

He'd played 50 minutes of intensely frustrating basketball; he'd been guarded by approximately 78 different sturdy and long-armed Spurs, often by two or three at a time.

With few exceptions, every time he'd carved out a sliver of space, a 7-foot-4 nightmare with an 8-foot wingspan materialized to swallow his vision and his hope.