Victor Wembanyama has taken the league by storm in his very debut season. The French wonderkid not only proved his doubters wrong but also has punched way above his weight.
Wemby’s dominant forays and nonchalant blocks went viral multiple times throughout the season. The general consensus among the fans makes him one of a kind taking only his impact into account and that certainly boosts his chances for the end of season rewards. Draymond Green, being a veteran of the game, already gave his verdict on the Frenchman but now he has something more to add.
Draymond Green explains why Victor Wembanyama must win DPOY
Despite saying that Victor Wembanyama shouldn’t be the 2024 DPOY winner, Draymond Green recently had a change of mind. The veteran flipped his statement after a month of observing the rookie’s exceptional performances.
During an episode of his podcast “The Draymond Green Show,” the Warriors forward admitted that Wemby should be the defensive title winner, although he wasn’t his first choice earlier. Justifying his current belief, Green said, “The way he impacts the game, both on the defensive end, whether it’s off the ball, on the ball. You drive into the lane to get a layup, and you see Wemby, you just go the other way. That’s a blocked shot.”
Draymond Green says Wemby should win DPOY 👀
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 3, 2024
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Surprised by the amount of talent the budding star has, Green said, “I don’t know what lab he was created in, but I need to go create me a son in that lab because dude is unbelievable.” Dray, himself being the DPOY winner (2017) is qualified enough to lay his insights on the subject.
The 4-time NBA champion’s acceptance came after watching his performance against the favorite MVP contender, Nikola Jokic, and his Nuggets men on Tuesday. On seeing his dominance in the defense, even Jokic had to warn him. Although the French professional thinks there is one key difference that could make Rudy Gobert the titleholder, Wemby’s mammoth numbers and versatility speak for themselves.
Victor Wembanyama 2024 NBA season in numbers
Victor Wembanyama did impress some of the former players and his contemporaries in the league, but as time went by, the 7’4″ rookie stunned the community by dropping huge numbers on the scoreboard and stealing all the attention when he was making his moves on the hardwood.
The first overall Spurs’ pick is as good in his offense, averaging 21.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists as his defense with 1.3 steals and 3.5 blocks per game. His blocking average is not only the highest this campaign, but also since the 2016-2017 season.
Wemby has focused on his shooting skills and has been averaging 46.4% from the field, 31.9% from 3-point range and 79.4% on free throws. The basketball sensation surpassed Dwight Howard to become the youngest player in the NBA to score 20 points and grab an equal number of rebounds.
Apart from overtaking the league legend Michael Jordan with his outstanding scoring abilities, Wemby has recorded 40 double-doubles and could have acquired a quadruple-double against the Denver Nuggets but missed it by a hair.
With all these massive numbers recorded by Wembanyama, Kevin Durant was accurate in predicting him as the future face of the NBA.
