The San Antonio Spurs went from missing the playoffs for six consecutive seasons to taking the Western Conference by storm. They only lost three games on the way to a Western Conference Finals matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder, taking down the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Thunder are up 3-2 after a 127-114 Game 5 victory behind a 32-point performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the two-time MVP is not the player on everyone’s mind. That would be Victor Wembanyama, a 22-year-old 7’4” giant with guard skills who is averaging 22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 3.7 blocks in his first-ever playoff run. He scored more than 30 points in four playoff games, including a 41-point performance in Game 1 against the Thunder.
The question every coach and GM in the NBA is asking themselves is, “How do we contend with him?” The Toronto Raptors are lucky to be in the Eastern Conference, but if they ever want to win a championship with a team built around Scottie Barnes, they will very likely have to go through Wembanyama and the Spurs. Fortunately, they already have the type of player that may be the key to slowing Wembanyama down.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick recently published a story in which an anonymous Western Conference GM suggested that big, strong wings/forwards are the best possible answer to a baffling problem.
The GM said, as quoted by Amick, “‘ There’s always an area you can attack (and) his is the strength factor. It’s better now than when he came into the league three years ago, but (still a weakness.) And with OKC playing Caruso and Dort (on him), I get the thought process. But they’re just too small. Then again, your 7-1, 7-2 guys aren’t able to match up. I think you need to find someone in the 6-8, 6-10 range who’s strong and athletic.’”
6-8 two-way wings/forwards are kind of the Raptors’ thing.
Could Scottie Barnes be the Raptors’ answer to Wembanyama?
Scottie Barnes already does so much for the Raptors on both ends of the floor that asking him to also guard the most fascinating phenom the NBA has seen in years doesn’t even seem fair. But he fits the archetype described in Amick’s article: 6-8, strong, and athletic. He also just so happens to be one of the best defenders in the NBA.
Barnes guarded Wembanyama for 20.6 partial possessions (or 3:56 minutes) in the 2025-26 season, according to the NBA’s matchup data. When Barnes guarded him, he shot 1-4 from the field and didn’t get to the free-throw line—not bad considering how much size Barnes gives up against Wembanyama.
Collin Murray-Boyles and Jakob Poeltl guarded Wembanyama more than Barnes. Poeltl defended the Spurs’ star on 34.5 partial possessions. Wembanyama scored four points on 2-4 shooting but also turned the ball over three times. Murray-Boyles held him to 2-5 shooting from the field and forced 4 turnovers over 44.3 partial possessions, but Wembanyama also went 6-6 from the free-throw line when defended by the Raptors rookie. With some more experience and time spent in the weight room, Murray-Boyles could end up becoming a viable alternative to asking Barnes to guard Wembanyama.
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