{"id":74460,"date":"2024-04-22T14:08:37","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T18:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=74460"},"modified":"2024-04-22T14:08:47","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T18:08:47","slug":"players-choose-between-victor-wembanyama-nikola-jokic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/04\/22\/players-choose-between-victor-wembanyama-nikola-jokic\/","title":{"rendered":"Players Choose Between Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the battle of big men, San Antonio Spurs sensation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wembavi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Wembanyama<\/a> has already edged out the two most reputable centers in the NBA.<\/p>\n<h2>Players Choose Between Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic<\/h2>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/5433545\/2024\/04\/22\/nba-player-poll-2024-lebron-jordan-goat-celtics-nuggets-rudy-gobert-timberwolves\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a recent poll<\/a> conducted by The Athletic\u2019s Sam Amick and Josh Robbins, 100-plus players were asked their preference in several categories. As they\u2019re open-ended questions, players have the ability to name any person, place, or thing that they want. Wembanyama didn\u2019t just crop up in two of the most intriguing sections, he topped the list.<\/p>\n<h3>Who to Build Around<\/h3>\n<p>Asked who they would sign first if building a roster from scratch, 27.9 percent of the players polled voted for Wembanyama. Amazingly, he beat out Denver Nuggets center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jokicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Jokic<\/a>, a two-time MVP and reigning NBA champion. Jokic has emerged as the NBA\u2019s top player due to his elite scoring and playmaking ability.<\/p>\n<p>Jokic is more efficient than Dallas Mavericks guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doncilu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luka Doncic<\/a>. He\u2019s a more imposing rebounder than Los Angeles Lakers forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a>. He\u2019s more skilled than Milwaukee Bucks forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>. Lastly, he\u2019s improved as a defender over the past two seasons, taking more pride in his physical conditioning.<\/p>\n<p>Taken altogether, he\u2019s now the best all-around player in the NBA.<\/p>\n<h3>The Sky is the Limit<\/h3>\n<p>Wembanyama still has a ways to go to match Jokic\u2019s footwork, passing prowess, and basketball IQ. However, the sky is the limit for the 7-foot-4 Frenchman. Indeed, he\u2019s already <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/04\/03\/nuggets-buy-victor-wembanyama-hype-future-nba\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">flashed burgeoning ability<\/a> in all three of those areas.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Highlights of Victor Wembanyama leading Spurs to win vs. Nuggets \ud83c\udfa5 | NBA on ESPN\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bY5kbmshAo0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>While he develops an all-around skillset, Wembanyama is already three-level scorer.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023-24, he averaged 21.4 points per game on 46.5 percent shooting from the field. Inside the restricted area, get out of his way, as he made 69.9 percent of his attempts in the circle. Yet, he has no problem rising above the defense along the perimeter, knocking down 37.5 percent of his pull-up 3s.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Victor Wembanyama - Rookie of the Year - Full Highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/n44XBR91Z4U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>With his length, mobility, and scoring upside, he could averaged 25 points per game next season and it wouldn\u2019t catch anyone off guard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of the stuff he does offensively, the way he moves, it just looks so fluid,\u201d one player says of Wembanyama. \u201cJust seeing him from afar, he\u2019s playing the right way. He has the right principles. He\u2019s focused on the right things. I like him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe upside and at 20 years old, you can see that if he stays healthy and continues to get better, he can be a truly great player,\u201d another player says. \u201cI don\u2019t want to put a ceiling on him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wembanyama\u2019s upside certainly played a part in him outranking Jokic in the poll. However, there are at least 60 rookies every season. Only two players from the last five draft classes were listed in the poll and received at least three percent of the votes: Wembanyama and Minnesota Timberwolves star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/edwaran01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Edwards<\/a> (10.3 percent).<\/p>\n<p>To that point, while Wembanyama\u2019s youth and potential were a factor, he\u2019s really just that good.<\/p>\n<h3>The Best Defender<\/h3>\n<p>For all of Wembanyama\u2019s offensive skill, it\u2019s his defensive mastery that\u2019s garnered the most praise.<\/p>\n<p>Asked who is best defender in the NBA, 15.2 percent of the vote went to the Spurs\u2019 pivot. Boston Celtics guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holidjr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jrue Holiday<\/a> (12.9 percent) and Oklahoma City Thunder wing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/dortlu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lu Dort<\/a> (9.8 percent) came in at second and third, respectively. Minnesota Timberwolves center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/goberru01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rudy Gobert<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/04\/22\/2024-nba-awards-list-of-finalists-for-every-category\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">2024 Defensive Player of the Year finalist<\/a>, ranked sixth with 6.0 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n<p>Explaining his thought process, one player says, \u201c[Wembanyama] really, like, affects everything in the paint. He has dudes not even trying to go to the rim.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe just makes it so hard to finish at the rim,\u201d another player adds.<\/p>\n<p>Wembanyama averaged a league-high 3.6 blocks per game last season, along with 1.2 steals per game. While he isn\u2019t built like the barrel-chested big men that dominated the paint in the 60s and 70s, his condor-like wingspan and fluid movement allows him to cover a lot of space in the halfcourt. His towering presence makes his opponents not even want to try to get a shot attempt up over him.<\/p>\n<p>Though the Spurs\u2019 defense as a whole was lackluster, none of that can be attributed to Wembanyama\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n<p>With that said, another reason Wembanyama likely edged out Jokic in the previous category is that he\u2019s such a promising defender. If he can put it altogether, he\u2019ll be the first center that\u2019s a nightly quintuple-double threat since the mythical <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/chambwi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wilt Chamberlain<\/a>. That name drop alone should clarify what kind of player Wembanyama has the potential to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the battle of big men, San Antonio Spurs sensation Victor Wembanyama has already edged out the two most reputable centers in the NBA. Players Choose Between Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic In a recent poll conducted by The Athletic\u2019s Sam Amick and Josh Robbins, 100-plus players were asked their preference in several categories. As they\u2019re [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":74469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,20,21,3,34],"tags":[72,4669],"class_list":["post-74460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-nuggets","category-timberwolves","category-news","category-spurs","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-victor-wembanyama"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}