Draymond Green pinpoints key reason against Victor Wembanyama’s DPOY case
NBADraymond Green is in on the Victor Wembanyama hype. Though, he sees one glaring factor holding the San Antonio Spurs rookie back from Defensive Player of the Year consideration.
Wembanyama’s 7-foot-5 frame enables him to block shots and disrupt shooters from outside, making him an obvious candidate for DPOY honors. But, the Spurs have a weakness that potentially offsets his daunting presence.
Green was not swayed by widespread Wembanyama craze when citing the Spurs’ poor defensive rating as a hit to his case.
Draymond Green holds poor Spurs defense against Victor Wembanyama
The former two-time Defensive Player of the Year examined Wembanyama’s effect on San Antonio’s team defense on “The Draymond Green Show.”
“Wemby is 12th in the league in steals and first in blocks. And those are great numbers and as he continue on in his career and that team gets better, I don’t think those numbers are going anywhere,” Green said as a disclaimer before making his point.”
“I still don’t think you can give that award to somebody who’s on the 24th-best defense in the league,” Green said.
Wembanyama seems to go viral every week for his record-setting stat lines. Those milestones typically include an inordinate amount of blocks, steals and sometimes both.
Yet, a Defensive Player of the Year is more than a stat-stuffer, but one who cultivates a championship caliber front, which Green would know all too well.
Every winner in the last 15 years anchored playoff teams with serious title aspirations.
Until the Spurs prove they can slow down top NBA offenses and translate that to wins behind his stellar rim protection and activity in the passing lanes, the French phenom may have to wait before hoisting the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy.
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