Oklahoma City Thunder SF Jalen Williams Prasies San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama - 'He's Got It'
Jalen Williams is not a bad defender. Last season, he used his 7-2 wingspan to irritate opponents on the perimeter and make driving against him a Herculean task, but even he didn’t have an answer for Victor Wembanyama.
On Oct. 9, the Oklahoma City Thunder matched up against Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in the preseason. Williams has had almost a month to reflect on that game.
In that preseason debut, Wembanyama led the Spurs with 20 points and added five rebounds, much to the excitement of fans. He had a few highlight-worthy plays that left defenders baffled.
In a recent appearance on JJ Redick’s The Old Man and the Three podcast, Williams broke down what makes Wembanyama hard to guard.
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) with the ball while defended by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) during the first half at Paycom Center.
Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
“Obviously the height thing is like, a big one. Because that’s ridiculous,” Williams said. “What is he? 7-5? 7-4?” Redick seemed to think that Wembanyama downplays his height, “He says he’s 7-4, I disagree with that. I think he’s taller.”
Williams was tasked with guarding Wembanyama in that preseason game, and it wasn’t just his height that stood out. “He was able to move really well to be that tall,” complimented Williams. “I made him spin, I did everything right, he spun into traffic. He spun from outside the lane and got to the other side [of the basket] kinda easy and laid it up with his left. That was the move of the night. I was like ‘man, he’s got it.’”
Since that 20-point outing, Wembanyama hasn’t looked back. In five regular-season games, he’s averaging 20.6 points, eight rebounds, and 2.2 blocks. All season long, Wemby will be receiving praise from everyone he plays against, especially if the Spurs continue winning.
