Noah is in awe of Wembanyama’s impact, especially on the defensive side of the floor.
Victor Wembanyama has exceeded expectations of being the most-hyped NBA prospect since LeBron James.
Former Chicago Bulls center and 2014 Defensive Player of the Year winner Joakim Noah is amazed at Wemby’s performance in his rookie campaign. In fact, Noah is so enamored of Wembanyama that he picked him as the guy from today’s NBA he would like to play with.
“Man, Wemby…because I’m seeing Wemby do sh** I’ve never seen before,” said Joakim while answering a fan question on “The OGs” podcast. “Yesterday, they played Memphis, right? It was a 3-on-1. Did you see that? Yo, that’s the craziest clip I’ve ever seen.”
“I was like, ‘Yo, 3-on-1, they threw that sh** back like it was somebody when we were playing on a nerf against kids.’ Wow, I saw it with my own eyes. Shout out to Wemby, man. That sh** Wemby is doing right now, I’ve never seen before on a basketball court,” Noah added.
Instilling fear on defense
The play that Noah was talking about is the Memphis Grizzlies’ now-viral 3-on-1 fastbreak against the Spurs last week, when, instead of getting an easy basket, all three Grizzlies players were scared to challenge the 20-year-old at the rim.
Wemby, who had seven blocks in that game, finished the season as the league leader in that category with 3.6 blocks per game. But more than the stuff that shows up in the stat sheets, Victor’s defensive impact is best seen in the fear he puts into his opponents.
Wemby as a DPOY?
Despite being in awe of Wemby’s defensive presence, the former Bulls big man doesn’t think that the rookie deserves to win this year’s DPOY award because the Spurs aren’t a top defensive squad.
“You’ve got to be a top defense, a top team defense. Individually, is he the best defender? Yes, but you know, when you’re the big guy, you’re the one who’s got to orchestrate the other guys. That’s a big part of it, too. Your blocks are great, but are your blocks staying in bounds? I want to know how you’re affecting winning,” said Noah.
Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert is expected to win the DPOY award this year. “The Stifle Tower” is a heavy favorite to win his fourth Hakeem Olajuwon trophy, despite Wemby having a legitimate case as a 20-year-old who only averaged 29.7 minutes of playing time per contest.
