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Bucks' Bobby Portis Unpacks Why Victor Wembanyama Will be Greatest Defender Ever

The rising Spurs superstar looked positively mortal against Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Alex Kirschenbaum

Jan 8, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) drives towards the basket around Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the first quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Jan 8, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) drives towards the basket around Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the first quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
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Milwaukee Bucks power forward Bobby Portis thinks that a recent foe, not his current two-time MVP teammate, is a contender to become the best defender in the history of the NBA.

The 6-foot-10 Arkansas product, a perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate, told former NBA players Lou Williams and Chandler Parsons and cohost Michelle Beadle on FanDuel TV's "Run It Back" that he believed San Antonio Spurs superstar center Victor Wembanyama would, at the very least, emerge as the league's top defensive player in its history.

"Boogie [DeMarcus Cousins] yesterday said, 'At minimum, he will be the best defensive player of all time,'" Parsons said.

"Yeah, I agree too," Bobby Portis agreed. "Every time I check his stats, he got three blocks. What is that bro? He gets three blocks every game. It's kind of unreal. And then he's handling the ball, hesi, pull-ups, stepbacks, 7-foot-4, I don't know man. Bro's special though. I like him a lot. I gotta get me a Wemby jersey signed for the man cave. Got to. For sure. He the truth, for sure."

In a 121-105 loss to Portis' Bucks on Wednesday, Wembanyama was held to just 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field (2-of-6 from deep) and no foul line takes, 10 rebounds, the aforementioned three blocks, two steals and one dime. As a scorer, that's a huge dip from his season average of 25.1 points on .479/.354/.873 shooting splits. Normally, that field goal rate would rank a bit low for a jumbo-sized center, but as Portis mentioned, Wembanyama has the handles of a guard, and frequently plays along the perimeter. He takes 9.3 triple tries a night. The 21-year-old is also chipping in 10.8 rebounds, the aforementioned 4.0 blocks, and 3.8 assists.

Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers made a big change to his normal defensive assignments against the Spurs, opting to sic 2020 Defensive Player of the Year power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo onto Wembanyama. The Spurs center is officially listed at 7-foot-2 or 7-foot-3, but looks significantly bigger, perhaps in the 7-foot-4/7-foot-5 range. Milwaukee center Brook Lopez, himself no slouch as a two-time All-Defensive Teamer, had been Rivers' prior preferred option against Wembanyama.

Antetokounmpo enjoyed a huge game, scoring 25 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the floor and 3-of-7 shooting from the foul line, pulling down a game-high 16 rebounds, dishing out eight dimes, and blocking a shot. Portis had an erratic shooting performance, scoring five points on just 2-of-12 shooting from the floor and 1-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe, but pulled down 11 boards, dished out two assists, blocked one shot and logged a steal in 19:19 of action. Lopez notched 22 points and seven rebounds.

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Alex Kirschenbaum
ALEX KIRSCHENBAUM

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