NBA will regret creating monster with ridiculous Wembanyama double standard

Victor Wembanyama has continued to be the center of "basketball" conversations since the conclusion of the NBA Finals, despite the Spurs being on the losing end. While it serves as confirmation that he is, in fact, the new face of the league, it's also annoying. The Alien is being punished in the court of public opinion for standing up for himself, and that reality has been ignored.

"Obviously, he did mush Brunson, and he did elbow Naz Reid, but if you paid attention to San Antonio this year, everybody's goal every single game was to put a body on Wemby. He's long, he's incredible, but he's not as big as he's gonna be... Within that, people are taking a lot of cheap shots at him this year." - former NBA player Matt Barnes

Wembanyama had guys running into his knees; he took shots to the head, elbows to the ribs, and was constantly pushed while in the air, grabbed and pulled with two hands, tripped, etc., all season long. You don't hear about it after the fact because he doesn't complain, but that doesn't mean he won't respond, and if you're going to demonize him for that, it's only going to be worse for you.

Wembanyama gave his response to NBA's physicality

Now, I don't know what people expected from the towering Frenchman, but he's not going to allow himself to be bullied. Everyone told him to prepare for playoff physicality, and he was. Everyone spent years telling him he was too skinny and frail, but when he started dominating the playoffs, the dirty tactics increased.

You heard it masked, but the responses from opposing coaches were always the same after his better performances: "We need to increase the physicality on Wemby." That basically meant they wanted to hit him and grab him more. As Barnes said, guys were consistently going over the line, and viewers were missing the vast majority of it because most people only watch the ball.

Did we already forget about Chet Holmgren stepping on his foot when he was going for a rebound or Rudy Gobert grabbing and yanking his arm in one direction as he moved in another? These are dangerous plays that could injure the 7'4" superstar, but nobody is batting an eye.

You're mad at Wemby for throwing an elbow in the Timberwolves series? Well, what about the fact that he was grabbed, bumped, and hit in the head on the very same play before it happened? That continues to be swept under the rug, and it was only seen because of what happened at the end of the play. He's getting grabbed, held, and hit like that 80% of the time he's on the floor.

Wembanyama shouldn't be penalized for not backing down

Seeing him fight back should be viewed as a positive. We love stories about the folks who stand up to the bullies, but for some reason, people want to paint him as the bad guy. Unfortunately, the person who retaliates is often the one who gets caught and labeled as the problem. But is that right? We're all familiar with that trope, so why continue to fall for it?

This kid is thoughtful and kind with a fierce competitive drive to be the greatest. Because of his size, some think it's okay to push the line. Players did that to Shaquille O'Neal, too, and Shaq will tell you himself that he would throw elbows and get in fights. Michael Jordan got in his fair share of fights when guys took their physicality too far with him, as well.

We used to celebrate a physical legend's refusal to be pushed around, but to reference Barnes' comments again, I don't think Wemby gives a *bleep*. So, you can choose whether he's the hero or villain in your story. Both options are fine with him. He's going to terrorize the league either way, so you can enjoy it or dread it. The choice is yours.

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