On a Sunday when the San Antonio Spurs paid tribute to long-time coach Gregg Popovich, Victor Wembanyama made sure the unbeaten NBA club celebrated a victory as well.

The 7-foot-4 (2.224m) French center scored 31 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, blocked six shots, passed off four assists and made three steals to spark the Spurs over Brooklyn 118-107.

San Antonio improved to 3-0 to start the campaign while the Nets, despite 40 points from Cam Thomas, fell to 0-3.

Terence Mann's jumper lifted Brooklyn within 108-107 with 2:47 remaining but the Spurs answered with a 10-0 closing run, "Wemby" hitting two free throws and a dunk in the concluding spurt.

Without ceremony, the Spurs displayed a new banner among the list of retired player numbers hanging from their arena ceiling that said: "Pop 1,3

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