Nikola Jokic gave Victor Wembanyama a low post defense before Nick Young ever opened his mouth

One of the worst voices in sports media watched Victor Wembanyama score 52 points and decided it wasn't worth very much. Nick Young, often treated as the class clown of the NBA during his career, claimed he wasn't "impressed" by Wemby's performance because "he don't want to play like that." He was referencing the Spurs' star's postgame comments when Vic called that style of play "exhausting."

Young claims the French phenom is being forced into that playing style against his will—that it's "not in his DNA," because he's "soft" and has "too much, you know, crumpets and tea." The former NBA journeyman believes Vic could play have nights like that all the time, but chooses not to because he'd rather shoot threes.

It's the oldest take in the book, combined with a long-standing stigma that overseas-born players have fought for decades. Tall guys should just stand under the rim and dunk. "Europeans" are soft. People have screamed at Wembanyama to get in the post since he entered the league, as if it's that simple. Enough with the brain-dead takes.

Nikola Jokic is moving out of the low post himself

There's value to shooting jump shots, and it has nothing to do with being weak or frail. If you don't want to listen to me or Wemby, listen to the best post player in the league today. After dropping 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists against Toronto over three quarters, Jokic was asked how it changed things when teams put smaller defenders on him. His answer was enlightening:

"In today’s NBA, I think there is no size advantage. I think the defender in the low post, the officials are allowing them to do much more: be much more physical, much more pushing, much more grabbing, than if you’re playing outside... I think that’s why more players are not willing to play in the low post anymore. Just because you’re going to get a foul, and it’s never going to get called." - Nikola Jokic

The Joker even spoke to the fatigue aspect, claiming it wears you down "possession after possession," then went as far as to predict the disappearance of the low post entirely in five to ten years.

This is a three-time MVP whose entire career was built on the block. He's not only talking about it, either. Jokic's post-ups are down to 5.1 per game from 9.8 two years ago. He's cut his own signature by almost half.

So when Nick Young says Wembanyama should be living down there, he's telling a slender 22-year-old to move into a neighborhood Jokic is moving out of. It's not reasonable, and it's hard to sustain your energy that way. We saw what happened in the NBA Finals when the Alien started to look human. Fatigue will do that to you.

Joel Embiid tried to shut down this take years ago

If Jokic isn't enough, take Joel Embiid as the next example. While healthy, Embiid was the most dominant force we've seen in the post since Shaq. Now his knees are shot, and he's not the same player he once was. He hasn't been for years. However, even when he was crushing opponents down low, the 76ers star drew criticism for playing on the perimeter. He knew he had to in the modern era.

"It’s funny when you’ve got these old guys always talking about posting up, 'you need to spend time in the paint,' and all that stuff. You can't win this way anymore. It's not the fricking '90s or '80s like it used to be. So, they must not have any basketball IQ." - Joel Embiid

What The Process is referring to is the evolution of the game. Defenses are way too good to allow a player to sit on the block all game long, and Wemby isn't strong enough to do that anyway. He doesn't need to be. He's averaging 29 points per game right now without doing that, so this entire conversation is nonsense.

When Wembanyama was drafted, everyone had the same health concerns because of his size. But they still want him in the paint, getting elbowed in the ribs, stepped on, and pushed to the ground for 30+ minutes a night?

Make it make sense.

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