Jun 17, 2026 10:00 AM
Is Draymond Green right in calling out Victor Wembanyama?
Victor Wembanyama completed in his first playof action this past season, and immediately established himself as a forces to be reckoned with for years to come.
Any questions experts or fans had about Wembanyama's ability in a playoff setting were answered when he led the San Antonio Spurs to the Finals after the team won just 34 games last season.
The inexperience of Wemby and the Spurs showed during the Finals as they couldn't close out Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks, despite leading in the final minutes of every game, they ended up losing. All great teams take playoff lumps along the way, and Wemby will almost certainly learn from this and be better moving forward.
Draymond Green Calls Out Wemby
Throughout the playoffs, Wemby maintained a confident approach, even as the Spurs fell behind in the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder and in the Finals against the Knicks.
Trailing 3-1 in the Finals, Wemby stated that "everyone knew" they would make an improbable 3-1 comeback to upend the Knicks.
They lost Game 5.
When the dust and confetti settled, instead of shaking hands with Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and the rest of the Knicks squad, Wemby walked off his home floor.
His demeanor upset four-time NBA champion Draymond Green.
"Look your killer in the face. You gotta look them in their face. If you leave the court and you don’t look me in my face and I just beat you. I actually know that I own you forever. You couldn't even look me in the face. To see them walk off the court, it was disheartening. I'll blame it on you. I'll blame it on lacking the leadership to show them, 'this is what you do. There is a way to win and a way to lose.' Walking off the court, not looking your killer in his eyes, ain't the way to lose," Draymond said on his podcast.
Is Draymond Correct?
Wembanyama walking off the court and not shaking hands with the Knicks isn't unheard of as it's happened throughout history with star players, but with the confidence he projected throughout the series, it does come off as being a sore loser.
Draymond has been part of the highs of winning a championship and the lows of losing in the Finals. In 2016, after blowing a 3-1 lead and losing in Game 7, Steph Curry stuck around to shake hands with members of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The end of a championship series in unlike any other series as the winning team is thinking more about the thrill of victory than showing respect to the other team, which is customary at the end of other series.
The hope is that Wemby learns from the experience and continues what is shaping up to be a legendary career.
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