canโt believe Iโm forced to defend a fkn Spur but the narratives around Wemby rn are just flat out stupid. the truth should matter.
first, the run he just took the Spurs on was awesome.
35pt debut (franchise record), a 40/24 game. 3.5 stocks/gm. 21.6 on/off differential (hilarious)
led one of youngest teams ever to the Finals.
took down the defending champs.
led for 75% of the Finals & blew it - meaning more than anything they controlled their own destiny & capped themselves.
this narrative that heโs now a permanently scarred failure whoโs legacy is cooked is hilarious.
22 yrs old. He, along w Castle & Harper, will only get better. Theyโll absolutely be back.
Second & imo most important - in no world is Wemby a โdirtyโ or immoral player. he had bad moments & lost composure, yeah. but if you think some shoves or elbows somehow makes him this unethical rotten thug of a player - *you* are soft (& delusional)
Nothing done by Wemby was anything different than moments weโve seen from Jokic or Giannis. not even sniffing the depths of Draymondโs greatest hits.
the man is an 8ft 150lbs slinky being thrown around by earthโs greatest athletes. a body thrown at him every moment to counter his length (if youโve played even JV level ball youโd understand).
Freedom of movement restricted. a man in your jock every step down the floor. that constant contact builds, frustration simmers, you go to make a basic play like set a screen, you flail, frustration pops, elbows thrown. it happens man itโs the nature of the sport. almost every Wemby flagrant was some run of the mill elbow or shove, called or not called - & fans act like heโs out there drop kicking knee caps or hammer fisting groins (wut). itโs a contact sport man tighten up.
Iโd actually love for someone to clip together some Wemby footage showing how defenses are guarding him, the amount of contact he deals w on avg plays, how frequent & constant heโs fighting for position. at least give some context to what heโs battling against every time down the floor.
and last, his quotes & off court behavior. Heโs a bit arrogant, likes to wax poetic & give genuine answers vs canned responses. I personally donโt mind it. Iโll take that vs chatgpt script responses all day. most of the stuff ppl crying about is heavily misquoted or out of context anyway. but what is it ppl want? we ask for confident, โrealโ Superstars & when we get it we cry that itโs all performative. listen to the full answer, stop letting the one sentence posted out of context in the caption form reality.
iโm gonna go throw up now for spending this much effort defending a Spur. but it had to be done. anyway you want to argue it, Wemby has been great for the league. heโs everything these โbring back the 90sโ advocates could dream for & if no one wants to defend him, Iโll take a minute to. what he just did these playoffs was genuinely incredible & he deserves the fair credit.