San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama Keeps Proving Why He's a 'Scary Defender'
Whether he is aware of it or not, San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama is living up to the hype.
Wembanyama tallied 15 points, 18 rebounds, five blocks and a monstrous dunk over Rockets center Alperen Sengun just three days after posting 21 points, 20 rebounds and four blocks in a 121-112 loss to DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls.
“He’s going to be a scary defender just affecting people’s shots down there, even if he doesn’t get a hand on them," DeRozan said. "Just the way he affects everybody coming down there, coming out of nowhere. The first layup, I didn’t know where he came from, and he blocked it. You definitely have to be aware.”
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts after a play during the first quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.
© Troy Taormina, USA TODAY
Wemby's defensive performance against Houston may not have been quite as scary as San Antonio's shooting struggles in the loss, but the success of both his individual and the team's defense gave the Spurs a chance against the Rockets despite going a woeful 5 of 41 from 3-point range.
As of Tuesday afternoon before the evening slate of games, Wembanyama is tied for first in the NBA with Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez with 2.8 blocks per game. Wemby is also currently ninth in the league in rebounds per game (10.6), as he's started to put up some monster nights on the board after having some less-than-desirable rebounding numbers for a guy of his size early in the season.
As they have for nearly two months now, the Spurs will continue to keep their heads up and try to secure a win to end the 17-game losing streak when they host the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at 7 p.m. CT.
