Kyrie Irving of the Mavs, said that Victor Wembanyama is a worthy contender for this season’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Victor Wembanyama anchored his team’s defense during the Dallas Mavericks’ 113-107 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night. This made it difficult for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving throughout the game.
Irving shot 13–21 from the field and scored 28 points. It was a solid performance. Kyrie Irving, even with Wembanyama on the floor, made good half-court decisions inside the arc.
Kyrie Irving praises Victor Wembanyama
Irving was blocked once on a reverse layup attempt.
He praised Wembanyama’s contribution to the Spurs and called him a deserving candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. Irving believes that Wembanyama, possesses the traits and output of a player worthy of the award. The award is given to a player who changes the course of the game.
Regarding Wembanyama, Irving stated:
“You got to be aware of him late challenging, and he has the timing of a guard,”
“I don’t know if it’s just he’s played against guards, but I’m just saying, I think he’s got a lot of reps of playing against good guards and guarding them one-on-one.
“Today, I thought I had a reverse layup, and he ended up blocking it on the left side because I thought he was going to be on the right side,” “But he has this long wingspan, so he covers up a lot of space. “As a competitor and challenger, I like going in there and challenging him because if you can finish on [Victor Wembanyama], I feel like you can finish on anybody in the world,” “He’s going to block some and he’s going to make you change it, but it’s only going to make you better as a basketball player, and that’s what I want, and I think everybody should relish in that. But also be smart in challenging him, because he does bate you a lot. He does do things like a Defensive Player of the Year would.”
Irving found it difficult to refute Wembanyama’s claim to be this year’s Defensive Player of the Year, highlighting the magnitude of his defensive statistics. It is unclear how voters would choose the winner.