Victor Wembanyama voted best defender in The Athletic’s anonymous player poll
April 22, 2024
The poll was taken between March 5 and April 11, so I think the results could be skewed even more toward Wemby had they done to poll after his electric end to the season.
10 comments
Honestly thought Jonathan Issac would be way higher, dude should be a perennial dpoy
I see no AD… 😂
Basically it’s answering the question which opponent in the NBA is toughest to score on, or even make any productive attacking stat action
Something tells me the players view Vic as more of a deterrent than other Frenchman on the list.
I think we also need to factor in the Rudy Gobert hate among NBA players. He was also voted the most overrated player.
What is this disconnect with AD? Either he’s a top 3 defender or nobody respects him? I’m confused. I confess the only time I see him play is vs the spurs and some playoff games. He seems pretty good, idk maybe Victor has warped my perception of defense.
Some quotes from that article:
*“He just makes it so hard to finish at the rim,” one opponent said of Wembanyama.*
*Another player said: “He’s changing the game. Players — you can’t say ‘scared’ — but he’s changing their shots. He deserves it.”*
*“He really, like, affects everything in the paint. He has dudes not even trying to go to the rim. He damn near leads the league in blocks right now, and this is his first year. He’s doing it in limited time too.”*
And Wemby edged out Jokic by a hair (27.9 to 27.2%) in the question “You’re building a roster from scratch: Who are you going to sign first?”
Some responses: *“Some of the stuff he [Wembanyama] does offensively, the way he moves, it just looks so fluid,” one player said. “Just seeing him from afar, he’s playing the right way. He has the right principles. He’s focused on the right things. I like him.”*
*“The upside and at 20 years old, you can see that, if he stays healthy and continues to get better, he can be a truly great player. I don’t want to put a ceiling on him.”*
We need to get Caruso to SA.
I’m pretty sure that the defenders who match up with more players on a regular basis will have a stronger reputation because those players will remember the frustration that defender caused them. So I’m sure that is the reason you see a lot of versatile defenders rated higher on here than traditional single position /centers defenders. Not a knock on Wemby, if anything it’s even more impressive that he matches up so well with 1-5 and can switch as well as anyone
Like it’s hard to say it’s a snub, because if Rudy wins he does deserve it based on the history of the award. However this is likely gonna be one of those head scratchers looking back like how didn’t Vic win for some people when almost every regard other than team success would suggest Vic is the DPOY.
10 comments
Honestly thought Jonathan Issac would be way higher, dude should be a perennial dpoy
I see no AD… 😂
Basically it’s answering the question which opponent in the NBA is toughest to score on, or even make any productive attacking stat action
Something tells me the players view Vic as more of a deterrent than other Frenchman on the list.
I think we also need to factor in the Rudy Gobert hate among NBA players. He was also voted the most overrated player.
What is this disconnect with AD? Either he’s a top 3 defender or nobody respects him? I’m confused. I confess the only time I see him play is vs the spurs and some playoff games. He seems pretty good, idk maybe Victor has warped my perception of defense.
Some quotes from that article:
*“He just makes it so hard to finish at the rim,” one opponent said of Wembanyama.*
*Another player said: “He’s changing the game. Players — you can’t say ‘scared’ — but he’s changing their shots. He deserves it.”*
*“He really, like, affects everything in the paint. He has dudes not even trying to go to the rim. He damn near leads the league in blocks right now, and this is his first year. He’s doing it in limited time too.”*
And Wemby edged out Jokic by a hair (27.9 to 27.2%) in the question “You’re building a roster from scratch: Who are you going to sign first?”
Some responses: *“Some of the stuff he [Wembanyama] does offensively, the way he moves, it just looks so fluid,” one player said. “Just seeing him from afar, he’s playing the right way. He has the right principles. He’s focused on the right things. I like him.”*
*“The upside and at 20 years old, you can see that, if he stays healthy and continues to get better, he can be a truly great player. I don’t want to put a ceiling on him.”*
We need to get Caruso to SA.
I’m pretty sure that the defenders who match up with more players on a regular basis will have a stronger reputation because those players will remember the frustration that defender caused them. So I’m sure that is the reason you see a lot of versatile defenders rated higher on here than traditional single position /centers defenders. Not a knock on Wemby, if anything it’s even more impressive that he matches up so well with 1-5 and can switch as well as anyone
Like it’s hard to say it’s a snub, because if Rudy wins he does deserve it based on the history of the award. However this is likely gonna be one of those head scratchers looking back like how didn’t Vic win for some people when almost every regard other than team success would suggest Vic is the DPOY.