Slowing down Victor Wembanyama isn’t easy. Defending the 7’4” Spurs star can be such a difficult task that even some All-Defensive NBA stars have left it in the hands of a higher power.
But the Rockets on Tuesday managed to bother Wembanyama, who shot just 5-for-21 from the field and 0-of-7 from three-point range in the Spurs’ 111-106 defeat at the hands of Houston.
So, how did they do it?
Kevin Durant has been guarding Wembanyama all night… Wemby is 5/21 tonight. Clamps.
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 21, 2026
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15-time All-Star Kevin Durant, who spent much of the night as the primary defender on Wembanyama, explained the Rockets’ strategy after the win.
“Yeah, I mean, he’s still working on his jump shot,” Durant said. “You can tell he’s trying to figure his jump shot out. We made him shoot tough fadeaways over us all night. He hit a couple early on, but for the most part, we made him shoot over us.
“He’s more dangerous when he gets layups and dunks and plays around the rim. That’s more his game, I think, than floating around the perimeter shooting threes or jump shots. When they go in it looks amazing but when you get a hand up, there was some bad misses. We was able to get out and run.”
Durant, of course, was well aware that things could have played out differently, but emphasized the strategy against Wembanyama was clear: make him take contested twos and threes.
“...But just his length in the paint is a problem,” Durant continued. “When he gets hot, it’s tough to stop him but I think we did a solid job of—putting him in foul trouble a little bit too—but getting our hands up on some of his jump shots.”
Wembanyama was asked what he thought the Rockets did defensively to affect him.
“They did what they usually do,” Wembanyama said. “And what most teams do actually. Obviously, I wish I made more shots tonight. But I need to be able to find ways to help my team even when I don’t make shots. That’s on me.”
Wembanyama will get another crack at the Rockets defense when the two Western Conference powers, who have split the season series at a game apiece thus far, clash once again on Jan. 28.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kevin Durant Explains How Rockets Slowed Down Victor Wembanyama in Win vs. Spurs.
