Victor Wembanyama’s miserable MSG debut: 7ft 4in phenom is shut down as Knicks dominate Spurs in front of Spike Lee and other New York celebs

In typical Madison Square Garden fashion, celebrities were in attendance at the New York Knicks game on Wednesday night as they demolished the San Antonio Spurs 126-105.

It wasn’t just any Knicks game, as No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama made his debut in the building known as “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”

But Wembanyama struggled to perform and was thoroughly shut down as Knicks center Mitchell Robinson dominated the game in the paint.

The 6-foot-2 phenom finished the night with 14 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Wembanyama shot 4-14 from the field and 6-6 from the foul line. Wembanyama also finished the match with a worse plus/minus score of -25.

Before the match, Wembanyama downplayed MSG, saying “it’s not as big as I expected,” although the moment proved to be far too big for the 7-foot-4 rookie.

Wembanyama shot 4-14 and finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds in the loss

The 19-year-old had perhaps the worst first half of his young career, as he scored just two points throughout the entire first half.

Through three quarters, the rookie had managed just six points and six rebounds while shooting 1-9 from the field. His other four points to that point came from shooting 4-4 ​​at the foul line.

By the end of the night, he was able to salvage his statistical line enough to almost record a double-double.

While Wembanyama may have put his foot in his mouth before the match, Robinson, on the other hand, may have written the book on how to stop the larger than life centre.

“I’m going to play him like he’s one of those players like Kristaps Porzingis, kind of players. Who else plays like that? Bol Bol? I just mixed them together. I kind of got an idea of ​​how it should go,” Robinson said.

Spike Lee, Victor Cruz, Fat Joe and Donnell Rawlings (L-R) attended the match

Knicks legends Carmelo Anthony and Walt “Clyde” Frazier were also in attendance

Actor and comedian JB Smoove and actor Jacob Batalon also sat on the right

Several faces who are regulars on MSG were seen throughout the night, including NY Giants legend Victor Cruz, New York-born rap legend Fat Joe, actor Donnell Rawlings and dually famous Knicks superfan Spike Lee.

There were also several legends spotted who once graced the MSG hardwood themselves, most notably Knicks legends Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony was also joined by his son Kiyan, one of the nation’s top college basketball players and a star for nearby basketball powerhouse Long Island Lutheran Highschool.

Fraizer is the frequent Knicks commentator on MSG Network and showed up to watch the game even though he had the night off since the game was broadcast by ESPN.

Actor and comedian JB Smoove and actor Jacob Batalon also sat on the right.

The game against New York Wembanyama looked inconsistent, as most rookies tend to do, and both poor and great performances contributed to the Spurs’ 3-4 record.

Through the first seven games of his NBA career, he had averaged 19.4 points and eight rebounds per game.

New York also debuted their 2023 City Edition uniforms, which were designed by New York-based fashion and lifestyle brand Kith and resembled some of NY’s long-gone uniforms.