#Spurs forward Carter Bryant is taking some time to sign autographs for fans. He’s been talking with one, communicating back and forth with sign language. He’s a big advocate for the deaf community. #PorVida
i’ve been watching basketball for 40 years and i have NEVER seen someone get BOTH of their ankles broken at the same time you gotta have this highlight playing on a loop in the basketball hall of fame forever now
Matt Barnes defends Victor Wembanyama’s aggressive play in the Finals:
"People were taking a lot of cheap shots at him this year... If you going to take a cheap shot at me, I'm going to elbow you in your f***ing face and I'm going to mush Brunson. I want that for my superstar."
(Via @allthesmokeprod)
can’t believe I’m forced to defend a fkn Spur but the narratives around Wemby rn are just flat out stupid. the truth should matter.
first, the run he just took the Spurs on was awesome.
35pt debut (franchise record), a 40/24 game. 3.5 stocks/gm. +21.6 on/off differential (hilarious)
led one of youngest teams ever to the Finals.
took down the defending champs.
led for 75% of the Finals & blew it - meaning more than anything they controlled their own destiny & capped themselves.
this narrative that he’s now a permanently scarred failure who’s legacy is cooked is hilarious.
22 yrs old. He, along w Castle & Harper, will only get better. They’ll absolutely be back.
Second & imo most important - in no world is Wemby a ‘dirty’ or immoral player. he had bad moments & lost composure, yeah. but if you think some shoves or elbows somehow makes him this unethical rotten thug of a player - *you* are soft (& delusional)
Nothing done by Wemby was anything different than moments we’ve seen from Jokic or Giannis. not even sniffing the depths of Draymond’s greatest hits.
the man is an 8ft 150lbs slinky being thrown around by earth’s greatest athletes. a body thrown at him every moment to counter his length (if you’ve played even JV level ball you’d understand).
Freedom of movement restricted. a man in your jock every step down the floor. that constant contact builds, frustration simmers, you go to make a basic play like set a screen, you flail, frustration pops, elbows thrown. it happens man it’s the nature of the sport. almost every Wemby flagrant was some run of the mill elbow or shove, called or not called - & fans act like he’s out there drop kicking knee caps or hammer fisting groins (wut). it’s a contact sport man tighten up.
I’d actually love for someone to clip together some Wemby footage showing how defenses are guarding him, the amount of contact he deals w on avg plays, how frequent & constant he’s fighting for position. at least give some context to what he’s battling against every time down the floor.
and last, his quotes & off court behavior. He’s a bit arrogant, likes to wax poetic & give genuine answers vs canned responses. I personally don’t mind it. I’ll take that vs chatgpt script responses all day. most of the stuff ppl crying about is heavily misquoted or out of context anyway. but what is it ppl want? we ask for confident, “real” Superstars & when we get it we cry that it’s all performative. listen to the full answer, stop letting the one sentence posted out of context in the caption form reality.
i’m gonna go throw up now for spending this much effort defending a Spur. but it had to be done. anyway you want to argue it, Wemby has been great for the league. he’s everything these ‘bring back the 90s’ advocates could dream for & if no one wants to defend him, I’ll take a minute to. what he just did these playoffs was genuinely incredible & he deserves the fair credit.
We all know what happened the year after we experienced heartbreak in 2013… The Spurs won the chip.
With a chip on their shoulders, newly obtained experience, and immense potential, we can’t wait for next season.