Damian Lillard has never come off the bench in the NBA. Jayson Tatum hasn’t either. And Victor Wembanyama , now in his third year, hadn’t either, until tonight. After weeks of intense training and rehab, Wemby was finally cleared to play in the NBA Cup semifinals against the Thunder , only to be called off the bench instead of starting. His response to the new role? Hilarious.

“Am I still eligible? We’ll think about it,” Wemby laughed after the game when asked about the Sixth Man of the Year award. To qualify, a player has to come off the bench more often than they start and hit the league’s 65-game minimum while playing meaningful minutes. Wembanyama is close to that threshold, making his chances for any season-end awards uncertain if he misses more games.

But fans quickly got creat

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