New York Knicks' Mitchell Robinson Humble After Victor Wembanyama Shutdown
Mitchell Robinson stood tall in more ways than one on Wednesday night.
It's hard, frankly, for the seven-foot Robinson not to, but he gained a few inches thanks to his output in the New York Knicks' box score against the San Antonio Spurs: in a 126-105 victory, New York's primary center scored eight points and pulled in 12 rebounds while the Knicks (4-4) carried a plus-30 advantage on the scoreboard while he was on the floor.
Like many subplots of Wednesday's win, Robinson's road led to Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio's teenage rookie phenom who stands at seven feet and a debatable number of inches. Wembanyama earned 14 points and nine rebounds in defeat ... but little, if any, of it came against Robinson.
“He has the ability to be up and get back. … He’s the anchor,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said, per Fred Katz of The Athletic. “He’s back there seeing everything. I think his understanding of the league now, what players like to do, (has) grown.”
Robinson's height made him a natural choice to defend Wembanyama and his play only backed it up: the longest-tenured Knick literally silenced the Spur, as Wembanyama missed all six of his shot attempts when Robinson was his primary defender.
With Robinson and backup center Isaiah Hartenstein flanking him most of the night, Wembanyama missed each of his first seven shots overall and most of his points only came in a futile effort to erase a wire-to-wire New York advantage, which reached as high as 30.
The shutdown led to Knicks fans regaling Wembanyama with chants of "overrated" as he shot free throws to bite into a 29-point deficit during the third quarter.
In the aftermath, Robinson was humble in victory, remarking that he was already impressed with what Wembanyama had to offer in the infant stages of his NBA career. Entering Wednesday's game, Wembanyama averaged 19.4 points a game, the most among active Association freshmen.
Robinson (L) guards Victor Wembanyama during Sunday's win
Brad Penner, USA TODAY SPORTS
“He’s a great player, one of the best in the league right now,” Robinson said of Wembanyama, per Steve Popper of Newsday. “Especially he’s 7-6, can put it on the floor, shoot it. So, it’s a challenge, but you need to do what you got to do.”
Even if Robinson downplayed his winning Wednesday effort, his teammates would afford him no such luxury.
“I ain’t seen this since I’ve been with him, but he’s been terrific,” Knicks reserve Immanuel Quickley said, per Katz. “He’s going to keep getting better.”
“I think Mitch did a great job just understanding what Wemby likes to do, making it difficult for him,” starting point guard Brunson added, per Ian Begley of SNY. “It’s the NBA. It’s really hard to stop people one on one. But I think Mitch did a great job of trying to make everything difficult for him. The whole team did. We tried to show him bodies. Obviously, he can see over everybody. We just tried to make it difficult for him.”
According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich tried to downplay Robinson's defensive impact, claiming his trailing of Wembanyama was "not a one-on-one matchup.” Even the most casual look at Robinson's box score, however, speaks volumes about his metropolitan impact at the start of the season.
As it stands, Robinson is averaging 12.4 rebounds a game, three more than the career-best mark he set last season. Included in that is an Association-best 6.3 of the offensive variety, a single-season summit reached by only three other players in NBA history (Moses Malone, Dennis Rodman, Jayson Williams).
"He consistently has to mentally be in that space, so, I’ve been proud of him," Hartenstein said, per Katz "He’s been probably the most consistent guy on the team this year. It’s been really exciting.”
Robinson and the Knicks will look to earn a perfect three-game homestand on Sunday afternoon when the Charlotte Hornets visit Madison Square Garden (12 p.m. ET, MSG).
