Untenable last night in San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama gave his team a great victory by crushing New York’s racket. 

Enough to push one of his Texan teammates into a big update, after the final whistle. And he is not wrong !

And another new all-time record for Victor Wembanyama , sparkling against the Knicks.

If the Spurs no longer play anything this season, this is not the case for their pivot who continues to send terrifying messages to the competition.

This night at home, he was able to repel the attacks of an unleashed Jalen Brunson (61 points) to guarantee his team’s victory with 40 points, 20 rebounds and 7 assists.

Practically assured of being elected Rookie of the Year at this stage of the season, the Frenchman did the total in New York.

And we’re not just talking about his offensive card since on the other side of the field, he also greatly hampered his opponents.

Aside from his 15 defensive rebounds, his teammate Tre Jones was especially impressed by his ability to make opposing attackers doubt themselves:

Tre Jones blown away by Wemby’s defensive impact

Tre Jones on Wemby’s presence on defense and how Victor impacts the types of shots teams will/won’t take in games https://t.co/7HEzSXOg50 pic.twitter.com/GmmDRuEcIA

— Paul Garcia (@PaulGarciaNBA) March 30, 2024

You can clearly see that everyone is paying attention to him on the pitch, especially near the circle.

We don’t care which player, it could be an interior or a guard. It does not matter.

You can see how it affects shots near the rim or even the decision making of players who are near the rim.

We have guys who don’t dare attempt layups just because he’s there and they don’t know if he’s going to counter them or not.

With that alone, he has a considerable impact on the match and obviously, there are also the shots that he will block or disrupt.

But yes, that alone can affect their decision-making near the circle.

Sometimes this prevents them from having a close-out, so they have to bring the ball out and don’t get a good shot, this can lead to a violation of the 24 second turnover clock, just because ‘He’s there.

Remember, if San Antonio only has the 25th defensive rating this season (119.3 points conceded per game), they are in the Top 6 when Wemby is on the field.

This shows to what extent his presence alone can make the Épers a real fortress in their half of the field while he is still only 20 years old.

He will not be DPOY in 2023-24, but for the future it may well be a completely different story.

If Victor Wembanyama carried out an offensive project against the Knicks last night, Tre Jones above all highlighted his defensive impact which was also decisive.

Proof that the Frenchman is capable of dominating on both sides of the field even though he is still only a rookie… the mark of the greatest.