(Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama has been making strides this season, and he is proving that he has been deserving of all the hype that has surrounded him.
He’s averaging 20.7 points and 10.1 rebounds a game, and his shooting accuracy has improved as the season has worn on — he shot over 50 percent from the field in January and is at 38.8 percent from 3-point range so far in February.
But his defense is the most sterling aspect of his game so far, as he’s leading the NBA with 3.3 blocked shots a game, and it seems he alters many more shots than that each game.
One member of an NBA front office even said that Wembanyama will be “the best defensive player of all time,” per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon via Basketball on X.
“I had somebody with another front office tell me [Victor Wembanyama] will be the best defensive player of all time”
[via https://t.co/zVmlgzdIhC] pic.twitter.com/szHUqsBBNB
— BASKETBALL ON 𝕏 (@BasketballOnX) February 26, 2024
The 7-foot-4 French native is already a terror in the paint, as he deters many shots at or near the rim while dissuading players from penetrating off the dribble.
A big factor in Wembanyama’s defensive prowess as the years go by will be his ability to step out onto the perimeter and guard smaller players at different positions.
It is something Giannis Antetokounmpo, a former Defensive Player of the Year, and Anthony Davis, both of whom are 6-foot-11, do very well in addition to protecting the rim.
Wembanyama will clearly go as far as he wants to, as long as he avoids major injury, and it is up to the San Antonio Spurs, who have the Western Conference’s worst record, to build a team around him and get him a co-star.
The post NBA Executive Makes A Bold Claim About Victor Wembanyama appeared first on The Cold Wire.