Ja Morant is one of the talented players of the next generation in the NBA. Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama is a promising rookie of the group of players born in 2004. The two had an interesting competition when the Memphis Grizzlies clashed with the San Antonio Spurs on January 3.
That was the match in which Ja Morant played better, with 26 points, 10 assists and Memphis Grizzlies won 106-98. However, Victor Wembanyama also had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 1 perfect block for Ja Morant on the other side of the front line.
With that situation, The Sporting News believes that Victor Wembanyama has enough potential to become a top candidate for the title “Best Defensive Player of the Year” in the future. Let’s analyze that situation in the article below.
Victor Wembanyama and his potential to become a top defensive player in the NBA
That was the time when the match had only passed less than 1 minute. Memphis Grizzlies actively ran, building a support wall to swap the defensive position of the San Antonio Spurs, with the purpose of bringing Victor Wembanyama out to accompany Ja Morant. The purpose of the Memphis Grizzlies is very clear, creating favorable conditions for Ja Morant to play in his natural 1-1 situations.
Wembanyama has the advantage of height, but Ja Morant is completely superior in speed, ball handling skills and experience in 1-1 situations. Looking at the picture below, the Memphis Grizzlies defender has enough space behind Victor Wembanyama to break straight into the basket if he successfully passes.
First, Ja Morant dribbled the ball towards the left. Victor Wembanyma responded by blocking a run that cut to the basket. But immediately, Ja Morant took advantage of his ball turning skills and speed to head in the opposite direction.
At this time, Ja Morant created a space large enough for himself to score points. Victor Wembanyama was in a completely passive position, unable to keep up with his opponent’s speed and flexibility.
Not only that, Ja Morant has plenty of experience in the movement to the basket, bringing the ball towards his right chest, while his body and left hand reached out to block Victor Wembanyama’s ball blocking movement.
If it were another defensive player, Ja Morant would have scored easily in this situation. However, Victor Wembanyama brought a great effort to block the shot to the basket. Inferior in experience, flexibility and blocked by Ja Morant’s left body, but Victor Wembanyama has an equally powerful weapon, which is his arm.
With an arm length of up to 2m44, Victor Wembanyama takes advantage of this to reach his opponent’s basket. Not to mention, saying that Victor Wembanayam is less flexible is not entirely true, because that is when he had to face a very superior Ja Morant. If Victor Wembanyama only had 1 slower player, it would be difficult for Victor Wembanyama to be passed so easily.
In another situation, Memphis Grizzlies tried to take advantage of the height advantage of Jaren Jackson Jr (2m08) compared to Julian Champagnie (1m98). Victor Wembanyama saw Jackson Jr.’s intentions, and moved back close to the basket to be ready to support his teammates when needed.
However, Victor Wembanyama did not abandon his coach Bismack Biyombo. In the video below, the young French talent still has a situation where he looks over his shoulder to check his opponent’s position, before deciding to move closer to block Jaren Jackson Jr.
When Jaren Jackson Jr. took advantage of his size to take over the bottom trapezoid area, Victor Wembanyama was ready to assist. The young French talent stood right behind Champagnie ready for a ball-blocking situation, while still keeping his body well enough to cover a pass to Biyombo’s side.
This is the result of that ball. When Jaren Jackson Jr. made an attack move close to the basket, the Memphis Grizzlies player immediately received a perfect ball blocking situation from Victor Wembanyama.
Having only turned 20 on January 4, Wembanyama is the player worth watching in the 2023/24 NBA rookie class. He is averaging 3.1 blocks per game, on par with the best defensive center in the NBA, Brook Lopez.
With a height of 2m24 and an arm span of 2m44, Victor Wembanyama has all the physical advantages to develop into a top defensive player in the NBA. With just a few more years of cultivating experience and reading situations, the young French talent can completely reach the title of “Best Defensive Player of the Year”.
