After having suffered back-to-back losses, the San Antonio Spurs are in Memphis with hopes to put an end to this skid. Matching up against Ja Morant for the first time in his career, it didn’t take long before Victor Wembanyama announced his arrival. Within the first minute of the bout, Wemby swatted away Morant’s layup attempt, leaving every fan and NBA Twitter in awe.
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Merely one minute into the fixture, Ja Morant found himself in a position with Victor Wembanyama guarding on the isolation. Deciding to take on the rookie, after a series of fancy crossovers, the Memphis Grizzlies had an open look at the basket. However, he wasn’t fully aware that the French phenom was right on his tail. Showing off his eight-foot wingspan, the 19-year-old swatted the layup attempt.
NBA Twitter wasted no time in hyping up Wembanyama. User @JuniorGotNext used the famous “Druski” meme to express his disbelief towards the people who think that Ja can put the center in a poster.
“And people think Ja [Morant] can put him in a poster”
Wemby’s fan account pointed out the superhuman abilities of Wemby. Despite the guard’s “killer” crossovers, the teenager showed off his reach and blocked the attempt.
Referencing Morant’s latest 25-game suspension, another user had a rather nasty comment, stating that Victor sent Ja back to the “hood” with the block.
However, there was a certain group of fans who believed that Morant would continue to go hard at the rim. These users implied that Morant would be in search of revenge.
As surprising as it seems, during the same contest, the All-Star tried dunking on the 7ft 4” youngster. During the 4th quarter of the clash, the highflyer managed to flush it over the European sensation, proving all his naysayers wrong.
While Wembanyama didn’t jump, Ja Morant absolutely did what he had set out to prove. He can dunk on just about anybody. It’s easy to see why fans are so excited about these plays, whether it be Wembanyama’s block or Morant’s dunk. With how much talk there has been about who’d come out on top in a battle above the rim, both combatants have shown incredible things, something they will likely do for a long time in the NBA.
Victor Wembanyama has fallen down the rookie ladder
The San Antonio Spurs are one of the worst teams in the NBA. Sitting dead last in the Western Conference, the Texas side has virtually no shot at advancing to the postseason. Amid the horrific campaign, Victor Wembanyama’s promising displays have been one of the very few positive takeaways for Gregg Popovich.
Victor Wembanyama is putting up quite a sensation rookie campaign. Recording historic stats on a nightly basis has become normal for the big man. Having missed merely four games this season, he’s been averaging a staggering 18.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game.
For the longest time, Wemby held on to the #1 spot on the rookie ladder. However, the latest ladder had a few changes as compared to the previous one. Thanks to Chet Holmgren scoring 20.7 points per game during the previous week (leading all rookies), the Thunder big man dethroned Wemby to regain the #1 spot.
As the season progresses, the Rookie of the Year race will become much more entertaining. While either of the two – Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren – have been touted as the two frontrunners to win the honor, it is noteworthy to keep an eye out for the likes of Jaime Jaquez Jr., Brandon Miller, and Dereck Lively II, among others.
