Should Victor Wembanyama Get Defensive Player of the Year Hype Already?
The coming-out party for San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama continues, only it's now players who are beginning to realize his impact.
Wembanyama's 38-point, 10-rebound road win performance against Phoenix could stand as - potentially - his best statistical performance of the season, but that's not even remotely the most interesting story around his current play.
Wembanyama has begun changing how opposing offenses play, and it isn't small adjustments either.
Opponents who try to go at him are routinely handcuffed, particularly when they attack him near the basket. In Sunday's game against the Toronto Raptors, forward OG Anunoby decided he wanted to test the rookie by using his physicality near the basket.
The result? A ferocious swat - one of three in the first quarter, and five total - that by the second quarter saw the Raptors pass out of drives, and generally avoid the paint, when the Frenchman was on the court. While they won the game after being down 22, the Raptors clearly changed their shot profile due to the presence of Wembanyama.
That theme also played out in the two wins against Phoenix, and it's bound to be drawn on coaches' whiteboards before games.
Needless to say, that won't stop some players from testing the rookie, which is actually good news for the Spurs. Entering the game on Sunday, Wembanyama forced his direct matchup to hit 25.7% less efficiently, and the Spurs have a 27.0 defensive rating swing when he's on the court, to when he's not.
Essentially, the Spurs look forward to those challenges, as it means a low-efficiency shot by their opponents, which allows the Spurs to get out and run.
That's not to say Wembanyama won't get caught eventually. He will. Someone will dunk on him - and hard. It'll sweep social media, potentially for weeks. And once again, the Spurs will love it.
A vicious dunk on Wembanyama might inspire more players to take that challenge head-on, despite the odds being, well, never in their favor.
But let's get back to his defense, and how he wrecks offenses.
Wembanyama will guard every frontcourt player. It doesn't matter if it's a wing or a big man. When he follows around more agile players, he'll switch seamlessly onto big men cutting down the lane, taking away easy shots. When he's on the interior, no ballhandler dares go in there, leading to long floaters, pull-up jumpers, and a larger emphasis on perimeter shooting.
Now, we could talk about Wembanyama's physical attributes all day long, and they certainly play a significant part in his success, but it wouldn't be fair to solely point to his 8-foot wingspan.
Wembanyama is flat out amazing at anticipating where the next pass is coming from. If a player is stuck in the corner, and needs to throw a pass across the court, he's on the move, getting a hand on it.
(Cross-court passes in half court sets might need to be reconsidered, guys.)
Furthermore, Wembanyama has a keen sense of timing and discipline. He won't reach for a pass if he knows it's outside his area, but he will stick his paw out there if players are making passes within his vicinity, which leads to deflections and fast break opportunities. He's also surprisingly quick to pick up loose balls, which shouldn't be normal when you're 7-foot-5.
Now, Wembanyama will reach on opponent drives, and that remains a theme in need of changing moving forward. Playing defense with his feet, as opposed to his hands, is going to be a point of major emphasis as he matures.
Now, what's my point here?
Well, I'll get to it. But hang tight, because it's a doozy.
... are we sure the rookie shouldn't get consideration for Defensive Player Of the Year if he keeps this up?
Last year's winner, Jaren Jackson Jr., won the award playing a similar brand of defense, and a similar amount of minutes per game. But at 6-foot-11, Jackson Jr is quite simply smaller and less effective around the basket.
Don't get me wrong. That's not a diss. Jackson Jr. is an outstanding defender, and clearly one of the league's best. But he does not change entire offensive strategies as Wembanyama does, nor does he cover as much ground in one step.
Jackson Jr. is more disciplined, more seasoned, and could end up blocking more shots than Wembanyama, and still not have the same footprint on a game as the rookie.
I know what you're going to say.
"Mort, he's been in like seven games! Shut up!"
It's true, and certainly a fair rebuttal, dear reader. The sample size is incredibly small. I fully concede that.
But... does it feel like Wembanyama is slowing down? It doesn't, right? It feels like the youngster is getting more and more confident and audacious by the game, in fact, which bodes well for his immediate, and long-term, future.
Now, I'm not making the argument that Wembanyama will win the award. At least, not yet. I'm solely arguing that based on what we've seen so far, he deserves a spot in the conversation.
Now, if he's still having a similar impact by March, then I might change it from "conversation" to "Oh, we're doing this".
As such, let's make sure to track his impact for the rest of the year.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
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