Seeing San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama in person for the first time can be a humbling experience for a lot of people. The rookie stands at a listed 7-foot-4 and has a ridiculous eight-foot wingspan. Even in a league as athletic as the NBA, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick stands out as a uniquely gifted unicorn.
Denver Nuggets rookie Julian Strawther almost learned all of this the hard way on Sunday night. As the Nuggets squared off with the Spurs, Wembanyama found himself with an open lane for a vicious dunk at the end of the third quarter. But Strawther, who stands at a listed 6-foot-6, wasn’t just going to give it to him and stood in for a block attempt. Talk about showing courage.
Strawther is lucky Wembanyama wasn’t able to finish the dunk.
Man if that went down… pic.twitter.com/VANoPNUPOb
— Wemby Muse (@Wemby_Muse) November 27, 2023
After a 132-120 Nuggets win, Strawther was asked about his thought process behind trying to challenge someone who is roughly 10 inches taller than him at the rim. Amusingly, he compared it to a near-death experience.
That’s quite apt, I would say:
"Life flashed before my eyes." Strawther tells @VicLombardi about what went through his mind on the Wembanyama dunk. #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/iVshHWqG3i
— AltitudeTV (@AltitudeTV) November 27, 2023
You have to imagine Strawther won’t be the first NBA player to stand in and hope Wembanyama doesn’t humiliate them with a dunk.
