Victor Wembanyama went full ‘Shaolin Soccer’ mode in the off-season in hopes of returning stronger from his deep vein thrombosis in the coming campaign, which is now just weeks away from starting. One thing is certain: he’s the favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year, and the San Antonio Spurs will be resting their hopes on Wemby’s shoulders. But to truly succeed, he will have to work on one of his biggest weaknesses. Can he do that?
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On paper, Wembanyama is the favorite to win DPOY, and at first glance, it isn’t too hard to see why. He averaged 11 rebounds and four blocks until his 2024–2025 season came to an abrupt end. These are unreal numbers, and he’s truly a very difficult player to score against.
But not every aspect of Wembanyama’s defense is top-notch. When it comes to guarding the biggest men in the league, the 7’4″ demi-god struggles. Stats of him guarding some of them from last season compiled show just that, and this is something that should have Spurs fans worried.
Wembanyama has not been at his defensive best against players like Nikola Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo. Simply blocking shots or grabbing rebounds does not make someone an all-around defender, and it is clear that the Frenchman needs to improve at guarding these elite players and making scoring difficult by giving them challenging looks
For instance, Wembanyama allowed Jokic to score 39.2 points when matched up with him last season, with a true shooting percentage of 66 per 75 possessions.
Honestly, there’s no need to get too technical either. Jokic looked unstoppable against the Spurs last season, scoring 40 points on two separate occasions. The Serbian put up 46 and 41 against Wemby, respectively.
Top 15 Players Guarded by Wemby in ’24-’25…
What stands out? pic.twitter.com/nKrqEw25hR
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Giannis, too, did not face too much resistance while going up against Wembanyama, with his 35-point game against the Spurs coming to mind. He also put up 14 rebounds on the very same night, which shows that he outmuscled Wemby in the paint, too.
For the Spurs to succeed, Wembanyama cannot just be stat-padding. He will have to make sure that when paired against future Hall of Famers, they don’t dominate him with ease. The numbers show that he has to get over his weakness against big men, and in all probability, that’s something he worked on over the summer.
Whether Wembanyama’s hard work materializes and he improves on his front remains to be seen.
