Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
Since coming into the NBA as the No. 1 pick in the draft in 2023, there has been no more dominant defensive force in the league than San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama.
Wembyama, who led the league in blocks the last three seasons, is the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year and has taken over from Rudy Gobert as the league’s best rim protector.
There’s just one big issue. Wembanyama has struggled mightily on defense in the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, and it’s a big reason why the Knicks lead the series 2-0 heading back to Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks Are Putting Victor Wembanyama In A Blender During The NBA Finals
Rather than allowing Wembanyama to stand around the rim and erase dunk and layup attempts, the Knicks have used Karl Anthony-Towns to pull him away from the basket.
While that isn’t exactly a new strategy, New York has added a wrinkle. Rather than just having Towns stand at the perimeter as a screener or potential jump shooter, they’re letting Towns and others attack Wembanyama off the dribble.
And they’re having incredible success doing so!
61% blow-by rate in the Finals on 18 drives Wemby defended. Not that this is a useful stat or stat we hear much about anymore.
But we all remember how much it was talked about with Luka vs Boston in the Finals which was 58% btw… https://t.co/Hvb3ahK7rc— Iztok Franko (@iztok_franko) June 6, 2026
Wembanyama has a 61 percent blow-by rate in the NBA Finals as a primary defender.
That means that 61 percent of the time an offensive ball-handler drives at Wembanyama, they are getting directly past them. The league average for blow-by rate typically hovers between 40 and 50 percent, and Luka Doncic was heavily criticized for allowing a 58 percent blow-by rate during the 2024 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Mavs.
To make matters worse, because Wembanyama is typically the last line of defense on San Antonio’s defense, any time a driver gets by him, it means they have a free path to the basket.
Either the Spurs concede a layup, or they have to concede an open jump shot when somebody rotates over.
San Antonio will either need much more from Wembanyama defensively moving forward, or head coach Mitch Johnson will need to change his defensive coverages to keep Wembanyama closer to the basket.
Because if they continue to do what they’ve done in the first two games, the series might be over before they know it.