Warriors' Draymond Green Reveals Plans to Guard Spurs' Victor Wembanyama
The San Antonio Spurs put the rest of the NBA on notice after being the landing spot for Victor Wembanyama. He's become one of the most highly anticipated prospects to ever be drafted into the league.
Already, Wembanyama's soon-to-be NBA rivals are pondering how they are going to slow him down when matching up against him. At 7-foot-4 with extended shooting range, a deep bag of moves, and the ultimate green light, he will be no easy task for any defender to contain.
In a conversation between two of the NBA's elite defenders, Paul George and Draymond Green, on the Podcast P show, there was some insight shared into the initial potential approach that may be utilized.
Green, who stands at 6-6, described the strategy he intends to deploy when guarding Wembanyama in head-to-head matchups, suggesting that physicality will factor significantly into the equation, and early.
“You’re not just dribbling through me like the Harlem Globetrotters. I’m sorry,” said Green. “You can’t let him get comfortable. You let him get comfortable you lose, because you can’t block his shot. He may not even see your contest. So with a guy like that you gotta do your work early. I‘m crowding him from the time he starts running down the court. When they get the rebound and they start coming I’m crowding because I can’t let him get to a space where he’s comfortable.”
Wembanyama projects as being the ultimate matchup nightmare for even top NBA defenders. He has the quickness, coordination, and shooting ability to be a problem for traditional big men, while having a major height advantage over any other type of defender that gets switched onto him.
The first chance for the NBA world to see a relatively close comparison to regular game action will be during the Las Vegas Summer League, which begins Friday.
Grant Afseth is an NBA reporter primarily covering the Dallas Mavericks, but also the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic for FanNation, as well as the league at larger for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group.
Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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