Five stats that have defined Wembanyama's otherworldly start to season

Dread it, run from it, Victor Wembanyama arrives all the same.

A day after submitting to Cooper Flagg's rookie breakout game, the Toronto Raptors head 273 miles southwest across the grand state of Texas to face a player conceived light years away, in galaxies unconcerned by the mortal boundaries of the basketball played on Earth's hardwood courts.

With the Raptors staring down the barrel of a less-than-ideal start to a season, their next foe presents an untimely challenge — a player in Wembanyama on a historic tear to start this season and ready to make good on his destiny as the next preemptive force in basketball.

After an off-season featuring cameos from Kevin Garnett, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaolin monks in China and astronaut Peggy Whitson, it stood to reason that we'd see a more talented, mindful, zen and out-of-this-world version of Wembanyama. He's made good on that so far.

So to best understand just how mind-boggling Wembanyama's leap has been, here's a look at five stats that have separated the Alien from the earthlings ahead of his showdown with the Toronto Raptors on Monday night (Sportsnet ONE, 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT).

1. Wembanyama has more blocks (18) than 24 teams. Only the Pistons (26), Grizzlies (20), Clippers (19), Celtics (19) and of course, the Spurs (24) have more. The Sacramento Kings are even at 18.

It's to be expected that his block totals lap the field, but to do so at his current rate is unheard of. As it stands, Wembyanama has a 16.7 block percentage, 7.3 points higher than Isaiah Stewart in second place. The gap between first and second is the same as the gap between second and 62nd.

It's also by far the highest percentage all-time, standing 6.1 per cent higher than the second-place Manute Bol at 10.6 in the 1985-86 season.

And though there's a handful of teams with more blocks than Wemby, no team has a higher block percentage than him, with the Pistons leading the league at 15.6 per cent.

2. Wembanyama is the first player in NBA history to have 100+ points and 15+ blocks through the first three games of the season. Couple that with the 40 rebounds and five steals, and the Frenchman has set an unreachable precedent.

Touted as a once-in-an-eon prospect, Wembanyama's calling card had always been his defence. But his ability to affect the game on both ends has taken him up a level and built the Spurs' 3-0 record so far.

His counting stats have been the stuff of legends, with the Spurs' game plan on both ends funnelling through him. He's turning blocks into buckets with unbelievable efficiency, running the floor in ways that look like optical illusions considering his perplexing height, and is turning the Spurs into a two-way nightmare — they have the best net rating in the NBA at +16.0.

3. Wembanyama has become one of the best isolation players in the NBA, somehow. As of Monday, he's in the 76.9th percentile, good for the fourth-best mark in the NBA and putting him in conversations with isolation maestros like Jalen Brunson, James Harden and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

He's calling his own shot in a way we haven't seen from him, taking the fight to defensive stalwarts like Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively. He scored 13 points on seven shots when defended by Davis in the season-opener.

Wemby is handling the ball like a player a foot shorter, keeping his body low and his dribble tight, then using his abnormal length to find the shots he wants, sinking them at 1.25 points per possession. The scary part is that the Spurs only call iso plays for him at a 15.0 per cent frequency — there's room to grow here.

4. Wembanyama is also one of the scariest transition players in the NBA, going from Bambi on ice in Year 1 to a gazelle in Year 3. Normally, a seven-foot-four centre would take his time getting up the court in transition, but the Spurs have done well pushing the pace when guys like Devin Vassell and Dylan Harper are on the floor, necessitating a higher pace from Wembanyama as well.

He's excelled at that pace, scoring 1.64 points per possession in transition with an 85.0 effective field goal percentage — good for the 93.3rd percentile and the sixth-best mark in the NBA.

His defence has been a huge contributor to that as well, forcing turnovers or swatting shots to start the push the other way. But what's been incredible to see this season has been his willingness to take the ball up himself for transition dunks, pull-up three-pointers or dishes to his teammates.

5. There's not a shot on the floor that Wembanyama can't make. While his pull-up three from the logo against the Nets was the highlight of the night on Sunday, what's more impressive is his efficiency from every spot on the floor.

• On paint touches, he's scoring 8.3 points per game on 73.3 per cent.
• On drives, he's scoring 11.3 points per game on 72.2 per cent.
• On pull-ups, he's scoring 7.3 points per game on 43.5 per cent.

He can play from the elbow with the offensive versatility of guys like Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis. He can finish lobs with Space-Jam-esque length. He forces defenders to meet him at the three-point line for fear of his shot. He's quantum physics personified, with the greatest basketball minds only able to muster theories on how to stop him and turn the abstract into actual. He's the greatest thing in basketball today, and he's the meteor soaring toward the Raptors at extinction-level speed.