NBA: For this trophy, Kyrie Irving nominates Victor Wembanyama
On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday in the NBA, Victor Wembanyama and Kyrie Irving faced each other in San Antonio during a match between the Spurs and the Mavericks, won by Dallas 113-107. If the French phenomenon did not shine as usual on the offensive level, he nevertheless showed the extent of his talent on the other side of the floor. So much so that “Uncle Drew” can’t imagine anyone other than “Wemby” as DPOY at the end of the season.
12 points at 3/13 in the shoot… This is the final scoring recorded on the score sheet Victor Wembanyama after the San Antonio Spurs’ loss to Dallas last night. Far from the offensive performance of the previous match against the Brooklyn Nets, where the French phenomenon scored 33 points on 14/26 shooting, Wemby just performed defensively, making 6 blocks and getting 8 defensive rebounds… just that. Furthermore, the 20-year-old’s total number of blocks and steals already exceeds that of any DPOY (defensive player of the year) in the last 10 years. In 2022-23, Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with a total of 254 blocks and interceptions on the season. Wemby is already at 290.
Three-time Olympic champion sings Wembanyama’s praises ahead of 2024 Olympics https://t.co/qf6ARn0E90 pic.twitter.com/NJT3CQWKhy
— le10sport (@le10sport) March 20, 2024
Irving is a fan of Wembanyama!
Obviously, such a statistic provokes a reaction. Kyrie Irving did not fail to praise the extraordinary qualities of the French giant after their meeting this Tuesday: “ I don’t know how he could not be (DPOY), unless it’s for a matter of games played or minutes. He is showing signs that he has already surpassed the stats of all previous players who have won the trophy in recent years. I don’t know who you’re going to pick, but he has what it takes to be named defender of the year. He is almost well above it and there are still around fifteen matches left. » conceded Irving.
“He has the timing of a fullback”
« You have to watch out for him when he comes to contest at the last moment, he has the timing of a fullback. I don’t know if it’s just because he plays against guards, but he had a lot of streaks defending good guards and defending them one-on-one. I tried a reverse layup and he ended up blocking it to the left of the hoop because I thought he would go to the right. But he has this immense wingspan, so he covers a lot of ground. […] I give him a lot of credit, being such a young player, but learning as he goes and doing everything he can to make his team win. » a conclu Uncle Drew.
