The NBA announced the starters for the upcoming All-Star weekend, which included the Spurs’ star Victor Wembanyama for the Western Conference.
This probably did not sit well with Draymond Green, who strongly believed Anthony Edwards or Deni Avdija deserved to be a starter over him. Over the last two episodes of his podcast, Draymond Green seems to have made his feelings clear about Wembanyama.
In the initial episode of ‘The Draymond Green Show,’ Green spoke about how Avdija has improved the Trail Blazers and why he deserves to start over Wembanyama, especially in the USA vs. the World format.
Green initially picked Wembanyama in his own starting five before the announcement was made, and then eventually changed his mind. He named Wembanyama alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“Now, interestingly enough, it’s the world versus the USA. Because for me, Wemby would not have been a starter if it were just straight up East versus West. And the reason Wemby wouldn’t have been a starter is that Ant-Man, for me, would have started over Wemby because Wemby just hadn’t play hasn’t played enough.”
“He’s been coming off the bench the last seven games or so. He missed a bunch of time, you know. So I just don’t know that I could have made him a starter. Yes, he would have still been an all-star, but I don’t know that I could have made him a starter had it not been World versus USA.”
“Needless to say, it is World vs. USA. And if you don’t want to go with Wemby for that reason, I think you could very easily go with Deni Avdija. Deni’s played incredibly. The Trailblazers look like a completely different team when he’s not on the floor.”
“He’s having an absolutely amazing year. And I’m not mad if someone puts Denny as a starter over Wemby just due to the amount of games Wemby has played, plus coming off the bench, only playing 20 minutes. I think all of that has to be taken into account.”
“So I actually may even go Deni over Wemby. I am,” said Green while replacing Wembanyama with Avdija on his own starting five for the All-Star weekend.
Eventually, Wembanyama has broken into the starting lineup after edging past Deni Avdija and Anthony Edwards. A difference of 4,500 fan votes reportedly decided that Wembanyama will be starting over Anthony Edwards.
Victor Wembanyama’s Biggest Hurdle To Being The Next Face Of The NBA
Moreover, on the most recent episode of his podcast, ‘The Draymond Green Show’, he further spoke about the battle between Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama as the potential next face of the NBA.
“I do think Ant-Man can be the face of the league. And I think he has the charisma to be the face of the league. And I do think obviously Wemby can be the face of the league.”
“The thing with Wemby is we still have yet to see a non-American be the face of the NBA. The face of the NBA and the best player in the NBA are two totally different things. And we’re still yet to see a non-American be the face of a game that is created, dominated by America, and is based in America.”
“We’ve yet to see an international face of the NBA. And so with that being said, I think when talking about the face of the NBA, you always have to take that into account. We all know how special Wemby is. There’s no need for me to sit and talk about how special Wemby is.”
“But in saying that, can you have a face of the NBA that’s from France or is not from America? Does that really resonate and hit home with America? Because ultimately, that matters when being the face of the NBA.”
“Another thing that Wimby has going against him is he’s 7’5. We’ve never seen a 7’5 guy sell a sneaker at a high clip, which also kind of coincides a bit with the face of the NBA. So, there are just some things that come with it.”
“Wimby has the love and commitment and dedication to be the face of the NBA, but ultimately, the face of the NBA has to be accepted and created by the people. And I just don’t know that the people can relate to a 7’5 non-American guy, and specifically a European, and make them the face of our league,” Green further explained.
“I just don’t know that that’s going to happen. And I have a legitimate reason to think that that may not happen because it’s never happened before. You know, you got Joker’s been the best player in the league now three, four years. Giannis was. Luka’s right there. None of them has become the face of the NBA.”
“And you could say, listen, LeBron still being LeBron, Steph still being Steph. That’s why those guys didn’t become the face of the NBA. You can make that argument.”
But the reality is that they’re the best players in the league and still didn’t become the actual face of the NBA. And I do think that that’s in part due to not being American. We’ve just never seen that in the NBA.”
So Green has problems with Wembanyama being an All-Star starter at this juncture in his career and sees major hurdles on the route for the French wonderkid to become the face of the NBA.
Just a few weeks ago, when the Spurs and the Warriors faced off in the NBA Cup, Wembanyama and Green had a heated exchange during the game where the 35-year-old veteran called the French starlet’s game “a**” on the court.
Do you think Green’s criticism of Wembanyama is warranted and has substance? Or is it just pent-up frustration against him? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
