Victor Wembanyama has been beaten off the dribble on 61% of the 18 drives he has defended through the first two games of the NBA Finals, a number that unexpectedly puts him behind Luka Doncic in the same metric.

That’s an ironic development for a player widely regarded as the league’s best defender. Doncic has spent years battling criticism over his defense, yet it’s Wembanyama who finds himself under the microscope as the series shifts to New York with the Spurs trailing 0-2.

The scrutiny intensified after NBA analyst Iztok Franko highlighted the blow-by data from the opening two games. The stat comes on the heels of Wembanyama’s own admission that late-game mistakes contributed to San Antonio’s Game 2 defeat.

What makes the number even more notable is the company it places him in. The last time a blow-by rate generated this much attention on the Finals stage, it belonged to Doncic himself.

In the 2024 NBA Finals, Luka Magic recorded a 58% blow-by rate against the Boston Celtics. It was a stat line that became a major talking point during the Mavericks’ loss in the championship series.

For clarity, a blow-by occurs when the defender fails to contain a driving ball handler and allows the ball handler to edge past him. In short, Franko established that Wemby has allowed more drives than Doncic in the Finals, so far. Through the first two games, the French phenom has allowed 11 drives in 18 attempts.

But understanding who is generating those blow-bys and how matters just as much as the rate itself. The Knicks have deployed a deliberate two-pronged attack designed to drag Wembanyama out of his comfort zone, and the primary architects have been Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Brunson has been relentless in attacking Wembanyama in isolation and pick-and-roll situations. In Game 1, the Knicks’ point guard piled up 30 points on 31 field-goal attempts, repeatedly drawing Wembanyama into close-out situations on the perimeter — far from the paint where he is most dangerous. In Game 2, Brunson followed with 20 points on 25 attempts and drew 5 fouls, forcing Wembanyama to guard like a traditional perimeter defender possession after possession.

Towns has posed an entirely different problem. As a floor-spacing big who can step out to the three-point line, he pulls Wembanyama away from the rim on one end while hammering him at the other. In Game 1, Towns posted 18 points and 12 rebounds, converting 7-of-13 two-point attempts and hauling in 4 offensive boards — generating second-chance opportunities that Wembanyama could not erase from the perimeter.

In Game 2, he was even more decisive: 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 8-of-12 shooting, with 13 points in the paint as he exploited the mismatches Towns and Brunson’s actions were creating. The Knicks scored 50 points in the paint in Game 1 alone, a number that reflects just how systematically New York attacked Wembanyama’s positioning rather than his shot-blocking instincts.

Together, Brunson and Towns form a two-man wrecking crew that is specifically engineered to neutralize what makes Wembanyama special. Brunson pulls him wide – Towns punishes him inside. It is a scheme that forces a 7’4 center to defend like a guard, and the blow-by rate is partly a byproduct of that design.

This comparison, at first glance, definitely raises eyebrows. Only because Luka Doncic has constantly faced criticism for his defense. During the 2024 Finals, the Celtics repeatedly targeted him, forcing him on isolation plays and switches.

With the guard already dealing with a knee injury, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum repeatedly went after him, exposing his mobility. In fact, many attributed this to the major factor in the Mavs’ loss.

However, comparing Victor Wembanyama’s blow-by rate directly to Doncic’s requires an important context.

Doncic, as a perimeter guard, has no safety net once beaten. There are no second lines of recourse, no extraordinary length, no shot-altering presence near the rim, no ability to recover as a legitimate rim deterrent.

When a Celtic blew past Luka, the advantage was essentially complete.

That is not the case with Wembanyama – even when Brunson or Towns get past him on the first step, Wemby’s 8-foot wingspan and elite recovery athleticism often turn what should be easy buckets into altered or blocked attempts.

The 7 ‘4 big man has the length, 8-foot wingspan, swiftness, blocking abilities, cut angles near the basket, and help defenders at his disposal. Most importantly, the big man’s wingspan, the biggest in the league, restricts plays that could have been easy buckets against other defenders.

So, blow-by shouldn’t really be the stat to define a defender’s ability, especially Wemby’s.

Moreover, he is the 2025-26 DPOY award winner and was chosen unanimously. He finished the season with a 100.9 defensive rating and led the league with 3.1 blocks per game. Importantly, one notable feature of his defensive ability is that he is unlike traditional shot blockers.

He can guard multiple positions. It’s to the extent where the players think twice before pulling up for a jumpshot against him.

On one occasion, facing the Warriors, Wemby single-handedly clamped down on Stephen Curry. The elite shooter, who is known for his intense off-ball movement, had Wemby chasing him throughout. It ultimately kept him from touching the ball during that possession. 

To summarise, after a blow-by, the defender has multiple options to recover from.

Victor Wembanyama is Still Having a Dominant Series

Anyone claiming he has not made his mark on this series is ignoring what has happened on the court. Through the first two games, he is averaging 27.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while impacting both ends of the floor.

Game 2 was especially impressive. He finished with 29 points on 11-for-21 shooting, added nine rebounds and four blocks, and nearly carried his team to victory before the 105-104 loss. In the opener, he put up 26 points and 12 rebounds, repeatedly forcing the defense into mistakes and earning 13 trips to the free-throw line, where he converted 12.

The defensive impact has been just as significant. Across the first two games, he has recorded seven blocks and three steals. Those numbers paint a far different picture than any isolated metric suggesting he has struggled to influence the series.

At the same time, Victor Wembanyama indeed had a major role in the Game 2 loss. The star center missed two crucial jumpers, including a game-winning shot at the buzzer. Above all, he committed a blunder, throwing away a possession with a lousy pass, finishing with 4 turnovers in a game the Spurs lost by just one point, a costly sequence that gifted the Knicks a series they had no business stealing in the final seconds.

“I threw that one away. I messed up. We didn’t play great as a team. We needed to win that game. This game was ours. But at this point, it’s done,” Wemby said. “Am I gonna regret it? Yes, of course. Am I gonna use that to fuel me and to fuel us in the next game? Absolutely.”

With the series shifting to MSG, Wemby will have to empty his tank. However, the analytics aren’t on his side. 

Teams with a 2-0 advantage in the Finals go on to win the championship 86% of the time. Yet, Wemby can still take inspiration from Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak won the 2021 title against the Suns, going 4-2 after falling 0-2.

Victor Wembanyama has all the assets; he just needs to fuel them in the right direction.