Victor Wembanyama continues to leave opposing stars and coaches in awe

I hasn’t taken long for Wemby to impress the elite of the NBA.

Even though the Spurs haven’t played since Tuesday, everyone is still raving about Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic’ epic matchup. The two-time MVP put up a big stat line of 42 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists, but the Rookie of the Year favorite was no slouch, flirting with a quadruple-double of 23 points, 15 rebounds 8 assists and 9 blocks in what ended being a last-minute loss, 110-105 in favor of the Nuggets.

While the shorthanded Spurs couldn’t pull off the massive upset, it was a far cry from their matchup with the defending champions back in November, when despite a semi-respectable final score of 132-120, they played from well behind most of the game, and Wemby played more like a rookie and wasn’t as aggressive. His growth and confidence level between then and now were stark enough for Jokic and Nuggets coach Mike Malone to take notice, as they showered him with praise after the game.

Malone called him the future of the league.

“With his unique length and shot blocking ability, he’s the future of the NBA. We’re watching the ascension of the next great player in the NBA. If you’re going to go out there and have 23 points, 15 rebounds, 9 blocks and 8 assists; there’s not much that young man can’t do. So, he’s n the right organization with the right coach to help him get better and learn. He’s a hell of a talent.”

Jokic discussed how quickly Wemby is learning, and noted the respect they have for him based on their defensive approach.

“Every game is new for him. I think he’s learning the match-ups. i think he’s learning floor balance; he’s learning who’s guarding him. Honestly, I think he just needs two games, and then he’s going to have it figured out. Aaron Gordon was guarding him basically the whole second half, he’s our best defender, him and (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), so I think that’s a show of respect that we have towards him; out best defensive player guarding him the whole second half … He’s humble, he’s working hard, and he’s still hungry. I think that’s a really good combination.”

Aaron Gordon also talked about how Wemby’s defense makes you rethink everything you’re trying to do out there. (Reggie Jackson can probably attest.)

Jokic, being the underrated Joker that he truly, is had an epic response this this series of plays that showed how good this matchup will be going forward. After Wemby got a scoop shot up and in around Jokic, blocked him on the other end, then scored on a putback, Jokic instantly got revenge with a posterizing dunk, and the two shared a laugh about it.

After the game, Jokic told the media he told Wemby he better not block him again or else … but Wemby blocked it several more times anyways. Whatever Jokic was going to do to him, apparently he backed off.

He also added a comparison to the two times he face Tim Duncan his rookie season, noting how Rookie Wemby did better against veteran Jokic than rookie Jokic did against veteran Duncan.

While we get quotes from other teams on a near-nightly basis on how impressive Wemby is, it just means more coming from a 2x MVP (perhaps soon to the three), possibly the best big man of this era, and defending champion. Now we know how younger players probably felt when they’d receive similar praise from Timmy and Pop back in the day.

Wemby himself had a funny story after the Denver game about his own teammate, mentioning how at one point, Tre Jones waived off a play call from “coach (presumably Gregg Popovich), saying, “We should run this play instead,” and the coach said “Oh, you’re right!”

Considering we have no reason to believe this isn’t true, it says a lot about the respect Jones — who had a triple-double himself in Denver — has earned from Pop and the coaching staff, possibly showing that they won’t hesitate to run him back as their starting point guard next year, especially considering other players we’ve heard similar stories from are Tony Parker and Avery Johnson.

Can’t get enough of Wemby vs. Jokic? There’s one more game against Denver coming at home next Friday, but in the meantime you can watch some breakdowns of their matchup and prepare for an exciting future of big men in basketball.