The Los Angeles Lakers narrowly defeated Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night behind another masterful performance from Luka Doncic. The Slovenian superstar posted 35 points, 13 assists, nine rebounds, five steals and two blocks in the win, while Wembanyama was kept relatively quiet to his standards.
Doncic and Wembanyama both represent Europe’s stranglehold over the top of the NBA landscape. Arguably four of the five best players on Earth — including the Lakers and Spurs stars — hail from Europe, and there has always been an immense respect between all of the international stars leading the way in the United States.
Doncic expressed exactly that about Wembanyama after the Lakers victory on Wednesday night, giving incredibly high praise to the freak of nature poised to take an unprecedented leap in his third NBA season.
“What’s this, his third year in the NBA? And he is playing in the LNB which is insane. I have much respect for him, much love, and I really enjoy his game,” Doncic said. “Playing against him is tough, guarding him on offense is very tough. I think he’s going to improve more. It’s always fun to play against guys you have so much respect for.”
While the Spurs and French superstar did not have his best game against the Lakers — 19 points and eight rebounds — he is still off to an incredible start this season. He’s averaging 25.6 points, 12.9 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game and is the runaway early favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year.
The league is likely going to revolve around Doncic and Wembanyama — health permitting — for the foreseeable future. And it’s good to see the mutual respect between superstars as they both look to lead Western Conference franchises back to the top of the landscape.
Victor Wembanyama believes Luka Doncic is toughest player to scout
One of the things that has always stood out about Victor Wembanyama is his competitive nature and desire to dominate against the best. Despite being so young, he never backs down from the tough matchups and always seems to rise to the occasion in the bigger moments, something Luka Doncic has been known for throughout his career as well.
Wembanyama recently spoke on Luka’s dominance, noting that Doncic is one of the most difficult players to scout in the entire league while adding that he hopes facing off with the Lakers superstar will bring out the best in himself.
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