Kyrie Irving supports Victor Wembanyama's DPOY candidacy: 'He has all the tools' / News - Basketnews.com

Victor Wembanyama's defensive impact garnered praise from Kyrie Irving, who described him as a worthy Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

Credit: Photo/LM Otero Credit Photo/LM Otero

Victor Wembanyama has emerged as one of the leading candidates for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.

Victor Wembanyama

Team:San Antonio SpursPosition:CAge:20Height:224 cmWeight:104 kgBirth place:FranceProfileNewsStatistics

Wembanyama is averaging 20.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.5 blocks and 1.3 steals on 46.4% shooting from the field in 61 games with the San Antonio Spurs. He is the only rookie to register a triple-double this season and leads all first-year players in 30-point games with six.

The Frenchman leads the league in blocks and is third in defensive box plus-minus (plus-3.0), 10th in defensive win shares (3.5) and 12th in rebounds. He also leads all players in games with at least five blocks (20); the next highest player has nine (Brook Lopez).

The first pick in the 2023 Draft recently earned an endorsement from Kyrie Irving, who thinks he should be in contention for the award.

"He does do things like a Defensive Player of the Year would," Irving said. "He is showing signs that he has exceeded all of the Defensive Player of the Year stats previous to guys that have won it. You guys see it. I don’t know who they’re going to pick, but he has all the tools to be named Defensive Player of the Year. He is for sure a candidate."

"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," Irving argued.

"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."

Victor Wembanyama

MIN:29.08PTS:20.69 (54.38%)REB:10.38As:3.49ST:1.25BL:3.49TO:3.48GM:61ProfileNBA2023/2024

During the Dallas Mavericks' 113-107 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, Wembanyama made scoring challenging for both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving on several occasions.

Irving still scored 28 points while shooting 13/21 from the floor. Despite playing 29.1 minutes per game, Wembanyama is exceeding the averages of Jaren Jackson Jr.'s Defensive Player of the Year campaign from last season. Wembanyama's production has only increased since the All-Star break, as the big man is averaging 4.8 blocks and 1.8 steals in 31.8 minutes per game.

"I don't know how he wouldn’t be unless the (number of) games played and minutes but every Defensive Player of the Year that has won in the past few years," Irving continued.

"He's almost head and shoulders (above them), and we still have what, 15 or some odd games left? I give him credit for being such a young player but learning on the fly and doing everything he can to get his team wins."

"You got to be aware of him late challenging, and he has the timing of a guard," Irving said of Wembanyama. "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."

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