The San Antonio Spurs lost 113-107 to their rivals, the Dallas Mavericks, in another fiercely contested game. Over long stretches, the club played excellent defense. The coverage on Luka Doncic, in particular, was superb, limiting the Slovenian superstar to only 18 points on 6-27 shooting.

As the primary defense for the bulk of the evening, Jeremy Sochan had an important role in this success. The last time Luka was kept to less than 20 points was on February 5th against the 76ers, and defenses have only done it five times this season, including this game. While Sochan deserves recognition for his contributions, Victor Wembanyama continues to dominate that side of the court, and superstar point guard Kyrie Irving has taken note.

 

Calls for Victor Wembanyama to win DPOY are growing louder.
The momentum is building towards a seemingly unattainable feat. At the start of the season, Victor Wembanyama’s defense was expected to outperform his offense. People were never going to be surprised by this kid’s outstanding defensive play given what he had already shown on film in a professional league overseas. What he has accomplished goes beyond’solid’ or any other moderate word you can think of, and exceptions are allowed for outstanding individuals.

 

Ryen Russillo of The Ringer is the first member of the media to confirm that he will vote for the rookie big man down south in Texas. His frank declaration may boost others’ confidence and serve as the first crack in a dam that will eventually shatter if more voters speak out in support of Wembanyama.

 
Shaquille O’Neal and others have recently criticized Rudy Gobert, the DPOY frontrunner, for his defensive style, claiming that he is overrated. Meanwhile, Victor is setting records in blocked shots, having a Hall of Fame-level influence on offenses. Kyrie was unsure whether Wembanyama’s minutes would be detrimental to his chances of winning the award, but the reverse should be true. He’s racking up these amazing stats in an average of 29 minutes every game.

 
Victor’s 57 blocks have surpassed the combined block totals of the NBA’s second and third shot-blocking leaders since the All-Star break. Kyrie Irving, one of the most talented players in NBA history, has endorsed Wemby’s defense. At some point, you have to quit attempting to maintain the meaningless tradition of not voting for rookies for spurious reasons. There is no reason to reject Wembanyama’s impact on defense, so don’t. Accept it. The truth will set you free.