Scoot Henderson vs Victor Wembanyama Immediate Reaction Game 1

We finally got to see it. The much-awaited matchup between the potential No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the 2023 NBA Draft. The towering 7-foot-5 Victor Wembanyama and the speedy 6-foot-3 Scoot Henderson finally faced each other. This was the first of two games scheduled for this week and it did not disappoint. The G-League Ignite won 122-115 in an unbelievable contest.

Scoot Henderson was absolutely nuclear in the first half as he went for 18 points and hit three triples. He certainly put to bed those concerns about his shooting. The beginning of the game saw Henderson and Wembanyama go at each other a bit and it was as electric as everyone hoped.

And while there might have been some concerns over Henderson’s defensive intensity at times, he certainly was hyped up for this game.

He kept feeling it in the half as he put Wembanyama in a bit of a blender here and hit a stepback three with supreme confidence.

Victor was not going to be outdone though as he notched two blocks right out of the gate and got this alley-oop.

Wembanyama got into some foul trouble in the first half and had to sit a bit longer than expected. He finished with nine points, two blocks, a turnover, and a rebound in the half. It should also be noted that this French Metropolitans 92 team has never played with NBA rules on an NBA court so there is an adjustment period and that should show itself in the rematch on Thursday.

Have no fear though, as Wembanyama came out in the second half absolutely firing. He had an early sequence that was described quite eloquently by CBS Sports’s Kyle Boone.

Scoot was not going to be outdone though as he put a slick move on Wembanyama to get an easy bucket.

Wembanyama had some nice moments. That includes this nigh unguardable move he did on a face-up against another big man.

Scoot Henderson found out the hard way in the fourth quarter. You CAN NOT summit Mount Wembanyama:

This game lived up to the hype and somehow exceeded it. The shotmaking was amazing and the top two draft picks were clearly the best players on the court. Henderson finished with 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting, 2-of-3 from three, five rebounds, and nine assists. Wembanyama was just as beastly on the stat sheet. He had 37(!) points on 11-20 shooting, 7-of-11 from deep (in his first game shooting from the NBA three), four rebounds, one steal, and five blocks with two coming against Henderson.

We get a rematch on Thursday and if it’s anything like this game, then everyone should buckle up. Because it’s going to be another fun ride.