DPOY favorite Victor Wembanyama reveals $55,761,216 legend as his hardest defensive assignment in NBA
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, in his second season in the NBA season, has already made a lasting impression defensively. At 21, the 7-foot-3 big man is one of the league's most feared defenders inside the paint, leading the league with 3.8 blocks per game thanks to his 8-foot wingspan, making him a favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year.
Throughout all this, however, one player stands out as a tough defensive challenge for the Spurs star. Wemby revealed that the player who gave him problems on that end was none other than Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry.
"Probably Steph. He just runs around so much," Wemby said.
The Warriors star, who will earn $55.7 million in the 2024-25 season, is known to give his defenders headaches. Curry is an excellent off-ball player, constantly running around the floor. As deadly as he is with the ball in his hands, he's equally tough to cover without it.
Fortunately for Wemby, he's a center and doesn't get a lot of chances to be the defender of the Warriors' guard.
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Victor Wembanyama's defense gets praise from Celtics big man
Before the All-Star break, the Spurs had a showdown against the defending champions, the Boston Celtics, on Wednesday. The young Spurs team couldn't get the win, suffering a tough 116-103 loss. Despite the defeat, Victor Wembanyama received praise from his matchup that night, 7-foot-2 center Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis highlighted the defensive impact that Wemby has, stating that the young Frenchman is already "historic" defensively, despite being only in his second year.
“The impact that he has on the defensive end, just with his wingspan and his length is, like, historic,” Porzingis said. “Like, we haven’t seen this, no? So even me, I felt like I need to give him something to get the shot off and, yeah, he’s just a special player.”
Wemby managed just 17 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks during their match. Despite his final stats, the Celtics' big man stated that it is difficult to halt Wemby's defense. Porzingis claimed that despite certain parallels between their skills, the Spurs' length places him in a "different stratosphere."
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