u/Positive-Citron3987

This isn’t just about this play. This is about the hit on Naz Reid a two series’ ago, and if someone were to do a deeper analysis, a lot of other plays. I believed that this series was going to be the beginning of the French baguette’s villain origin story. And I was correct, just not in the way that I thought. I thought the ass-whipping the Knicks would give him would spur him to get in the gym this summer. Put on 10-15 lbs. of muscle. Move in with Hakeem Olajuwon. Come back next season determined to terrorize the league.

That may still happen, but the villain origin story is already in progress. If you’re not a San Antonio Spurs homer, and you’ve been watching these playoffs, then you should see some patterns emerging. NBA sports media, ESPN and Fox Sports, in particular, are complying with the internal memos, and have essentially anointed him as the best player in the league for the next decade, despite the fact that he’s been outplayed by KAT through the first two games of the series.

The NBA playoffs and Finals will always draw the most eyeballs, and with the world watching, from the diehards who pore over analytics, to the casuals who can barely name 5 players across BOTH teams, everyone is getting the Victor Wembanyama experience. The pushing and shoving. The flagrant elbows. The whistles that ALWAYS seem to go his way, but are silent when he is the offender.

NBA fans, sports fans, I know he is a biological oddity, a giant that makes other giants seem small. I know that he moves and scores in a way that no one his size has any right to, and we’ve never seen before. But don’t be so distracted by the offensive and defensive prowess that you overlook the dirty play. Don’t let the postgame press conferences where he likes to put on the affectation that he’s some sort of serene, thoughtful, zen-like figure who hangs out with Tibetan monks in his spare time. He’s a dirty player, who plays the very “unethical basketball“ that he tried to label OKC with.

I actually heard one of the talking head morons on ESPN make the argument that he doesn’t consider Wembanyama a dirty player, because he is too skilled offensively to have to rely on dirty play. That because he’s not a limited offensive ballplayer, à la Draymond Green or Dillon Brooks, that he doesn’t fit the definition of a dirty player ( as weak an argument as I have heard).

Marvel at his physical presence and unprecedented offensive and defensive skills. They are worthy of acknowledgment. But don’t discount what you can see with your own eyes.

Victor Wembanyama is a dirty player.

If this was a blind quote, and you had to guess which player on the Knicks said it, Josh Hart would be your only guess. Hell, if you had to guess which player on EITHER team said it, it would STILL be Hart.

Hart. It’s his name. It’s who he is.