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Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may be the NBA's reigning back-to-back MVP, but there is very little doubt in anyone's mind who the league's most nightmarish matchup is: the San Antonio Spurs' versatile behemoth from France, Victor Wembanyama.
At 7'4", Wemby already poses an immense challenge due to his length and height, which he leans into to deal massive damage to defenses via putbacks, paint points, and seemingly unblockable jumpers. However, that's not all that the young Frenchman excels at; what makes Wemby the most unique talent the league has ever seen is his blend of length and ball-handling skills.
While most big men typically rebound the ball and dish it off to the guards, Wembanyama's skill set allows him to bring the ball up himself and initiate the offense, leaving him free to size up on the perimeter against centers and power forwards who often can't keep up with him.
However, one NBA legend who feels confident in his ability to contain the Alien is Dennis Rodman, who recently shared that he has defended players just as tall as Wembanyama back in the day, so he doesn't see the latter as much of a headache.
Rodman is used to being at a disadvantage
As unique as Wembanyama is, Rodman can lay claim to being up there with him when it comes to being one of a kind. A two-time All-Star who hitched his wagon to playing defense and rebounding during an era wherein legitimate brutes roamed the paint, what truly made the Worm remarkable was the fact that he was a 6'7" forward who regularly faced off against players much taller and larger than him.
"I guarded Manute Bol. I guarded Gheorghe Mureșan. I guarded most of the other 7-foot-4 guys," Rodman said, referring to two centers who stood 7'7".
Bol was a 10-year veteran who averaged 3.3 blocks for his entire career, while Muresan was a flash in the pan, playing only six years in the NBA, and was known for winning the Most Improved Player award in 1996 and his starring role opposite Billy Crystal in the 1998 movie, "My Giant."
Hard work gets you far
Despite his eccentricities off the court, nobody can argue that Rodman worked his behind off every time he set foot on the hardwood floor. It didn't matter at all to him which player he was assigned to defend. It could be Michael Jordan one night, Magic Johnson the next, and Hakeem Olajuwon the following evening; he would bring tenacity and relentlessness to the game, allowing him to clean the glass and defend with aplomb.
That said, he believes defending Wembanyama would require considerable effort.
"It's just hard work, brother. I just wanted to do it so badly and stuff like that," Rodman stated. "So it don't matter how big they were. It's the heart you got."
While Rodman's confidence is laudable, it's safe to say that it would take more than just moxie to contain a man of Wembanyama's immense skills and talent. Unlike the 1980s and '90s, which featured big men who were usually slow and plodding, Wemby is neither. He's as quick and nimble as perimeter players yet still is forceful inside the shaded lane; a combination that many think would push him to MVP status sooner, not later.
