The marquee outside of Madison Square Garden in December 1949 once promoted the following event, which was happening a couple of days later: "Geo Mikan versus Knicks."

Not "Minneapolis Lakers versus Knicks." Just George Mikan. The NBA's first one-of-a-kind big man.

It feels like history repeating itself now. The NBA Finals start Wednesday (Thursday AEST), with the Spurs facing the Knicks for the title. And the marquee for this series — in San Antonio, in New York, in Paris and countless other points around the globe — may as well say "Wemby vs Knicks."

Victor Wembanyama keeps stepping onto bigger and bigger stages. The latest version of the NBA's one-of-a-kind big man — a title once held by the likes of Mikan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal — will have all eyes on him in this series, and probably for every game he plays for the rest of his life. He's not "on the way" to superstardom. He's there. And this series is giving him his first chance at putting champion on his resume.

"This is the best basketball on the planet that's being played right now," Wembanyama said after San Antonio won Game 7 at Oklahoma City to capture the Western Conference title.

"And the crazy thing is ... I want to do that 15, 20 more times. Let's hope it doesn't become an addiction. Maybe it is already."

It may as well be an addiction. San Antonio is clearly addicted to him.

There's no Major League Baseball in San Antonio, no NHL team, no NFL team. As far as big-time pro sports go, it's the Spurs and nothing else.

School's out in San Antonio. It's summer. The city's public library was buzzing on Monday and a few kids just happened to be noticing a new display not far from the front desk.

"Read Like Wemby," it said, and it featured five books that Wembanyama has been known to read in the past.

The results?

"The interest has been huge," said Scott Williams, the marketing manager for the San Antonio Public Library.

So, Wemby gets people reading.

He also gets people to visit seafood restaurants — even when they're closed.

Rudy's Seafood isn't open Mondays. In a 15-minute span on Monday afternoon, four cars showed up. They weren't there for lunch. They were there to see the Spurs murals — current players and coaches are featured, alongside a freshly re-painted Gregg Popovich, a newly added George Gervin and Manu Ginobili, among others.

Fans proudly pointed out that Wembanyama has been to the restaurant to see the tribute to the Spurs, which has been up for years and gets updated as needed.

"A lot of people stop and do selfies," said Roland Ramirez, who owns the restaurant.

"They're doing graduation pictures with the backdrop. It's pretty nice for the community. You know, the Spurs are pretty big right now here in San Antonio."

He has met Wembanyama in the past and was blown away by how he carries himself.

"He talked to my wife ... he's just a very emotional guy, very humble, very, very nice guy," Ramirez added.

"That's what people are really feeding off. He's humble, but he's hungry for a championship. And when he gets on the floor, he's a whole different monster."

He's different. Just like Mikan was 77 years ago. Wemby versus the Knicks. A marquee match-up awaits.