Where Victor Wembanyama’s big Game 3 ranks in Madison Square Garden’s NBA Finals history

Victor Wembanyama’s NBA Finals moment had to wait a few days, but he shined with all of the pressure on his shoulders in a 115-111 Game 3 win over the Knicks.

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The young Spurs star won his first Finals game with 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and three blocks, stuffing the stat sheet in Madison Square Garden with millions watching at home.

While Wembanyama received contributions from Stephon Castle and others in the victory, he set the tone for the Spurs in a game that could have put San Antonio in a likely insurmountable 3-0 hole.

Here’s a look at where Wembanyama’s performance ranks in NBA Finals history at Madison Square Garden.

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7. Patrick Ewing (1994, Game 5)

• Stats: 25 points, 12 rebounds, 8 blocks, 2 steals

June 17, 1994 will be better remembered for the O.J. Simpson chase, but Knicks great Patrick Ewing cooked up a masterpiece while the world had its eyes elsewhere. 

Ewing erupted for 25 points, 12 rebounds and a whopping eight blocks in a 91-84 win, pushing the Knicks within one win of a championship and answering a dominant Hakeem Olajuwon performance from Game 4. The series, of course, would end without a title for New York.

6. Hakeem Olajuwon (1994, Game 4)

• Stats: 32 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 assists

The Rockets lost Game 4 of the 1994 NBA Finals at MSG, but Hakeem Olajuwon was a one-man show for Houston. The big man posted 32 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and three assist in the loss, shooting 14-of-20 and getting virtually no help from the players around him. Olajuwon’s supporting cast eventually stepped up, as the Rockets won the series back home in Houston in seven games.

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5. Wilt Chamberlain (1972, Game 3)

• Stats: 26 points, 20 rebounds

The Knicks won two championships in the early 1970s, but the Lakers got the better of them in 1972 in part because Wilt Chamberlain willed L.A. to a win at Madison Square Garden in Game 3.

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Chamberlain posted 26 points and 20 rebounds in a 107-96 win, leading all scorers and dominating the boards. The Lakers would take Game 4 at MSG as well before closing out the series at home in Game 5.

4. Victor Wembanyama (2026, Game 3)

• Stats: 32 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals

After a turnover that cost the Spurs a potential win in Game 2, Wembanyama answered with a terrific Game 3 at MSG. The 22-year-old shot 11-of-18 from the field, putting up 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals in easily his best game of the young series and willing the Spurs to a much-needed win on a night in which Dylan Harper and De’Aaron Fox went cold for long stretches.

3. Tim Duncan (1999, Game 4)

• Stats: 28 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks

27 years before Wembanyama made his mark at MSG, another Spurs phenom wowed on the NBA’s biggest stage. Already leading the series 2-1, second-year star Tim Duncan erupted for 28 points and 18 rebounds along with three assists and three blocks in a 96-89 win over the Knicks. Duncan shot 9-of-19 in the victory and was the only Spurs player to reach 20 points.

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2. Willis Reed (1970, Game 1)

• Stats: 37 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists

Willis Reed’s gutsy Game 7 performance went down as legendary simply because he was on the court at all while dealing with a «severe» thigh injury, but the Knicks might not have been in that position at all if not for his outstanding showing at MSG in Game 1.

Reed posted 37 points, 16 rebounds and five assists in a 124-112 win over the Lakers, shooting 16-of-30. He was the only Knicks player to reach 20 points in the victory, countering 33 points from Jerry West and a 24-rebound performance from Wilt Chamberlain.

1. Walt Frazier (1970, Game 7)

• Stats: 36 points, 7 rebounds, 19 assists, 5 steals

It will be hard for anyone to top Walt Frazier’s legendary performance in Game 7 of the NBA Finals at MSG, as he posted 36 points, 19 assists, seven rebounds and five steals on 12-of-17 shooting to sink the Lakers and power the Knicks to their first NBA championship. Reed’s gutsy performance was perhaps the most memorable aspect of the game as he played through injury, but Frazier put the Knicks on his back in front of the home crowd.

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