Victor Wembanyama is shattering the NBA's age curv...

The NBA playoffs have a well-earned reputation for testing, and sometimes exposing, talented young stars. Michael Jordan didn't lead the Bulls out of the first round until his fourth season, Kobe Bryant famously hoisted all those airballs in Utah as a rookie, and LeBron James was left open by playoff opponents early in his career because he hadn't yet honed his outside shooting touch. These early stumbles are a cherished part of basketball lore: Jordan, Bryant, and James learned hard lessons, addressed their flaws, got their playoff reps and went on to win championships. But Victor Wembanyama is challenging this conventional wisdom by raising his game as he leads the Spurs on a deep playoff run. What if playoff growing pains aren't mandatory? Wembanyama, 22, has been the NBA's top performer in his first playoff run: He ranks first in player efficiency rating (PER), rebounds and blocks among players who have appeared in at least 10 games. What's more, the French phenom made a strong case that he's the best player in the world by posting 41 points and 24 rebounds in a Game 1 double-overtime victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday in the Western Conference finals. Though Oklahoma City countered Wednesday to even the series, the Spurs should return to San Antonio for Friday's Game 3 (8:30 p.m. ET, NBC) comforted by the knowledge that Wembanyama is putting together arguably the best playoff run by a young star in the NBA's modern era. Jump to a section: 20/10/4 club | Age-22 runs The GOAT chase | Finals MVP? Let's start with Wembanyama's simple playoff statistics: 22.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game. That makes him the youngest player ever to average 20 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks per game across a run of at least 10 playoff games, outpacing Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson, who accomplished the feat in their age-24 seasons. (Note: Blocks were first recorded during the 1973-74 season.) While Olajuwon and Robinson represent elite company, they didn't win their first championships until after their 30th birthdays, though Olajuwon did reach the NBA Finals in his second season. Wembanyama has a chance to leave both in the dust: The Spurs seized home-court advantage from the Thunder in the West finals, and they would likely be favored over the Knicks or Cavaliers if San Antonio advances to the Finals. Can anyone claim to have a better playoff run at age 22 than Wembanyama? Right now? Yes. One month from now? Maybe not. The chart shows the best PER by an age-22 player during a playoff run (minimum 10 games and 250 minutes played). Wembanyama ranks third behind two all-time greats. Chris Paul was masterful in his first playoff run, but the New Orleans Hornets bowed out in the second round. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's spectacular rookie season ended three wins short of the Finals, while Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavericks and Amar'e Stoudemire's Phoenix Suns were knocked out of the Western Conference finals in short order. In other words, Wembanyama would stand alone among this group if he maintains his current standard of play and leads San Antonio past Oklahoma City. Let's look at another measure of all-around production and impact: win shares per 48 minutes. This time, Wembanyama ranks second among a distinguished pack of age-22 stars. Now the comparisons are really starting to get interesting. Bryant, who entered the NBA straight from high school, was an ascendant performer in his fifth playoff run for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000-01. That year, he won his second championship alongside Shaquille O'Neal. Tim Duncan, who spent four seasons at Wake Forest, won his first championship in 1998-99 during his second playoff run. While Duncan is an obvious analogue for Wembanyama given their Spurs ties, positional similarities and two-way dominance, Wembanyama also evokes Bryant's fearlessness and flair in the clutch. Duncan and Bryant are helpful guides: If Wembanyama plans to collect a fistful of championship rings, it's best to get off to an early start. After his sensational showing in San Antonio's Game 1 win, Wembanyama prompted a wave of social media posts wondering whether he might one day claim the coveted greatest of all time title among NBA players. The basketball world's glee was understandable given that San Antonio's franchise center hit a 3-pointer from the logo, dunked multiple times through contact, came through with multiple defensive stops in the clutch and outdueled back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Hall of Famer Paul Pierce called Wembanyama "the best basketball player I've ever seen" last week, and that was before he took over Game 1 with a performance for the ages. So, how does Wembanyama stack up against Jordan and James at the same stage of their careers? Jordan's scoring average is the highest in a single postseason in NBA history, but it came in just three games, as the Bulls were swept out of the first round of the 1986 playoffs b

Victor Wembanyama is shattering the NBA's age curv...

Key takeaways

More in sports