Sports
Column: Lakers able to overcome Victor Wembanyama's rare performance
Their meeting was almost poetic, a confluence of basketball eras, a rhapsody in sneakers.
San Antonio rookie Victor Wembanyama, just past his 20th birthday and playing his first NBA season, stunned and entertained a crowd that’s accustomed to seeing superstars stroll by on the court and along the sidelines at Crypto.com Arena. In piling up 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and five blocked shots in the Lakers’ 123-118 victory over the Spurs on Friday, the 7-foot-4 Frenchman pulled off a rare 5 by 5: at least five points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals and five blocks in a single game.
He’s the youngest NBA player ever to do that and is believed to be the 22nd to do it in league history, though older records aren’t complete. And he did it in the second game on back-to-back nights after he had 19 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and five steals on Thursday.
Leaping high on impossibly long legs, he used his spidery arms to swat away shots that seemed destined to swish through the net Friday. He doesn’t so much rise as unfold. He doesn’t run so much as he devours real estate in huge chunks.
“He’s so tall,” said Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who stands a respectable 6-5 and found himself looking up at Wembanyama like a sore-necked tourist trying to see the cloud-covered top of a skyscraper.
“What am I supposed to do? He’s 7-foot-12. I don’t know how many times he blocked my shot tonight. I stopped counting.”
LeBron James, not far removed from his 39th birthday, made his return from the All-Star break and an ankle injury to lead all scorers with 30 points, including 20 in the second half. The Lakers (31-27) needed the victory, and they needed James to help them bounce back from a loss at Golden State on Thursday in their return from the All-Star break.
“I felt pretty good. I was more surprised by how well my wind was, to be honest,” he said. “But ankle did OK. Did so-so. I was happy to get out there and help my team win. That was most important.”
Yet on a night that carried far more buzz than a typical Friday in February, James made it clear he was impressed by Wembanyama’s potential.
“He doesn’t have a ceiling. So, he can do whatever he wants to do with his career,” James said. “It seems like he enjoys the game. It seems like he puts in the work. Just from the outside looking in, I’m not with him on a day-to-day basis, but I said a long time ago how special he was and it’s literally that simple.”
Asked how much havoc Wembanyama might be capable of creating defensively, James listed the rookie among the “guys in our league that you have to account for anytime you get around the rim or around the perimeter in our league history and he sits right at the top of it, [if not] around the top with all the greats.” He complimented Wembanyama’s exceptional debut, but noted other players have made similar splashes.
“But, it’s, can you sustain it?” James said. In his 21st season, with the NBA career scoring record in his pocket, he knows about longevity.
After the game, James punctuated his praise by tweeting, “That kid is SPECIAL!!” and adding an emoji of an alien. On Instagram, James posted a photo of them side by side, and again added the alien emoji.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham is another member of Wembanyama’s growing fan club.
“I just told [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] after the game, the kid, the thing that impresses me most about him, he’s uber talented, multi-faceted, highly skilled, but he’s, I think his biggest trait and quality that you can’t teach or coach, is his competitive nature. He’s a competitive kid and he makes winning plays all the time,” Ham said.
“You see how he plays with his teammates. He’s trying to make the right play, whether it’s for himself or for the others that are out there with him. And defensively, chasing down shots, changing shots, blocking shots, coming up with strong rebounds. But again, those two intangibles, the ability to stay that competitive, possession by possession., and also make winning plays, I think for me, personally, it’s the most [impressive] thing about him.”
The unforgiving nature of the NBA season gave the Lakers little time to enjoy their glimpse of Wembanyama and their victory over the Spurs (11-46). The Lakers next play Sunday afternoon at Phoenix.
“It should be a great game. They’ve been playing really good basketball for obvious reasons,” Reaves said. “They have a super-talented team that, offensively, when they’re making shots, they’re probably second to none. So, should be a dogfight. That’s what we should go in thinking it’s gonna be. Go compete every possession and leave it all out on the line.”
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The Kentucky Wildcats basketball team may still make the NCAA Tournament, but Dick Vitale thinks this iconic program should be much better than their 19-12 record this season considering their whopping $22 million roster.
The legendary ESPN college basketball analyst didn’t hold back his feelings about the Wildcats as they played Florida during Saturday’s prime SEC matchup. After the Gators hit some free throws to extend their first-half lead to 26-19, Vitale started to lay into the Wildcats.
Head coach Mark Pope of the Kentucky Wildcats in a game between the Florida Gators and the Kentucky Wildcats on March 7, 2026, at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY. (Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire)
“I’m going to say this right here, I’ve done several Kentucky games, win or lose, $22 million this team [which has been reported] in terms of the NIL for their players,” he said, per Awful Announcing. “I think in $22 million, they could have put together a better roster than they did. I really do.”
The Wildcats ended up losing by a score of 84-77, and Vitale continued about Kentucky near the end of their 12th loss of the season.
“I’ll tell you one thing, you don’t want to walk out of here thinking you got a moral victory,” Vitale said, referencing a hard-fought game against the No. 5-ranked Florida team. “Moral victories don’t count at this level of basketball. And you hear some of the people, ‘We played them close. We played them tough.’
“The bottom line is you’re Kentucky. You’re Kentucky. And you’ve got to leave here with a win, especially at home. There are no moral victories. Come on. I don’t want to hear that.”
Collin Chandler and Jasper Johnson of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrate in the first half against the Ole Miss Rebels at Rupp Arena on Jan. 24, 2026 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
The Wildcats were once the top program in the country under former Coach John Calipari, who left for Arkansas after being unable to make a long March Madness run in recent seasons, including a shocking first round upset to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats have been coached by Mark Pope since, and they made the Sweet 16 in last year’s tournament before losing to Tennessee.
Kentucky Jasper Johnson in action vs Michigan State at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY on Nov. 18, 2025. (Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated )
But this year, Kentucky is 10-8 in SEC play, and now face the No. 9 seed in the upcoming tournament this week. The winner of each conference earns a tournament berth, but the Wildcats know good seeding in the NCAA Tournament requires a strong run heading into Selection Sunday this upcoming weekend.
The Wildcats will start their SEC Tournament play on Wednesday against No. 16 LSU.
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The Chargers bolstered their efforts to protect quarterback Justin Herbert all while diversifying their offense by agreeing to a multiyear deal with veteran fullback Alec Ingold on Sunday, the team announced.
Ingold’s deal with the Chargers reportedly is for two years and $7.5 million.
Ingold will be no stranger to the Chargers’ plans on offense. He played the past four seasons in Miami under coach Mike McDaniel, the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator. Last year he caught eight passes for 52 yards and ran the ball twice in 17 games.
Ingold caught 47 passes for 372 yards and rushed for 34 yards in 20 carries in four seasons with the Dolphins. He also had two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown.
Before his time in Miami, Ingold played three seasons with the Raiders.
The deal comes two days after the Chargers signed veteran center Tyler Biadasz to take over for the retiring Bradley Bozeman. They agreed to terms on a one-year deal with edge rusher Khalil Mack on Saturday.
With the free agency negotiation period set to begin Monday at 9 a.m. PDT, the Chargers remain in strong position to be significant players in the free-agent market. They rank among the top-five teams in salary cap space, per Overthecap.com.
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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and his fiancée, Sarah Jane Ramos, reportedly broke up with their wedding around the corner.
Prescott and Ramos’ relationship had been “rocky” in the weeks leading up to the breakup and things exploded between the two at their joint bachelor and bachelorette parties, TMZ Sports reported on Saturday.
Dak Prescott and Sarah Jane Ramos attend the Farrah Fawcett Foundation Tex-Mex Fiesta on Oct. 30, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. (Omar Vega/Getty Images for Farrah Fawcett Foundation)
Ramos shared pictures of her trip with her friends on Instagram on Friday.
“I truly believe you can get through anything in life as long as you have really great friends. I love these girls so much,” Ramos captioned the collage of snaps.
Prescott was not pictured in any of the 16 photos and videos posted to her social media account.
Sarah Jane Ramos and Dak Prescott pose for a photo before Dak Prescott’s Faith Fight Finish Foundation Gala on May 17, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images for Faith Fight Finish Foundation)
Ramos also posted photos of her bridal shower back on Feb. 23. There were no photos of Prescott in the carousel either.
“The most intimate and beautiful bridal shower of my dreams,” she added on Instagram. “So grateful for my aunts who hosted it and my girlfriends and family that came to celebrate. I love you all so much and can’t wait to marry the love of my life with all of you by my side.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Prescott’s representative for comment.
Prescott posted a series of photos on his Instagram of Ramos and his family on July 20, 2025. There’s only a September advertisement posted on his account since.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Sarah Jane Ramos pose on the NFL Honors Red Carpet before Super Bowl LX at Palace of Fine Arts on Feb. 5, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
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The NFL star and Ramos announced they were engaged on Oct. 18, 2024. The couple have two children together.
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