Victor Wembanyama has entered the books again. In game five of the San Antonio-Minnesota series, the French centre became only the third player in the play-by-play era (from 1996-97 onwards) to gather at least 18 points and 6 rebounds in a single playoff first quarter. The other two? LeBron James and Nikola Jokic. Serious company.

Wembanyama didn't just do it, he didn't stop in the first 12 minutes either. The Spurs finished with a 126-97 dominant win, and the 22-year-old centre piled up an improbable 27 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. A stat line that doesn't get produced every day in the playoffs - not even in the careers of Top 10 stars.

The Western series takes a new shape with this - San Antonio, which only two seasons ago was a byword for lottery and a youth build, now carries a 4-1 lead in the Western Conference semi-final. Minnesota, which last year shut down Dončić and the older Warriors' charge, this time had no answer for a player who on the court is something between Durant and Dikembe Mutombo.

For the Balkans, context is particularly worth noting - Wembanyama has now become a member of a club whose only other names are James and our own Jokic. When the Frenchman is compared with the Serb, that's a benchmark long felt to be coming, and confirmed by every night like this.

The sixth game is in Minnesota. The Timberwolves have one game to find a way to stop a player who is currently playing as if in a category of his own. No one in the league believes in a miracle from Edwards and company - but no one wanted to be in the Timberwolves' shoes either.