To the average person, the 6’ 2” Stephen Curry is quite tall. In the basketball world, however, the Warriors guard is one of the more diminutive superstars that the NBA has seen.
The same cannot be said for Spurs rookie center Victor Wembanyama. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft has taken the league by storm so far this preseason, and for good reason. He possesses incredible shooting and ball-handling ability—two attributes that also set Curry apart—while being listed at 7’ 4”.
Curry’s sharpshooting has helped change basketball. He does things on the court that few can even dream of. Beating a man more than a foot taller than him for a jump ball, however, is not one of them.
Give Curry credit for trying, though. To open Friday night’s preseason game between the Warriors and Spurs, Curry really tried to tip the ball away from Wembanyama. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t quite work out.
He wasn’t the only Splash Brother to get an up-close look at what Wembanyama can do. A few minutes later, the rangy rookie came out from the post to block a Klay Thompson three-point attempt, and followed it up with an easy transition dunk.
Wembanyama leads all scorers with 12 points along with three blocks in just eight minutes of play. San Antonio leads Golden State 44–35 at the end of the first quarter.