Draymond Green Reveals Knicks’ Biggest Key to Slowing Down Victor Wembanyama in NBA Finals

The New York Knicks are four wins away from ending a championship drought that stretches back more than five decades, however, standing in their way is the San Antonio Spurs team led by Victor Wembanyama. As anticipation builds ahead of the 2026 NBA Finals, plenty of attention has shifted toward how New York plans to handle the league’s most unique player.

That question recently came up on “Draymond Green’s podcast”, where the four-time NBA champion broke down what he believes will decide the series. Rather than focusing solely on Wembanyama himself, Green pointed to the defensive structure around him, arguing that the Knicks’ ability to contain the Spurs star will depend on far more than one individual matchup.

Draymond Green Explains What Knicks Must Do Against Victor WembanyamaDec 2, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) stands on the court before the start of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn ImagesGreen thinks the Knicks’ defense starts with OG Anunoby since he’ll be covering Wembanyama a lot. But Green says they can’t rely on just one guy for that task. Once Wembanyama gets close to the basket, things get really tough. He’s got such amazing length and mobility and can finish above anyone. This makes him super hard to guard near the hoop. So, Green feels the Knicks need bigs everywhere in their rotation; they shouldn’t depend on one primary defender.

“What’s very important when trying to guard Victor Wembanyama is your point of attack defender and that’ll probably be OG Anunoby… When Victor Wembanyama’s in the paint, he’s probably the most dangerous lob threat in NBA history, what then becomes most important is the size around the point of attack defender of Wemby… because if you don’t have size, then you don’t stand a chance.”

Draymond on what's important for the Knicks in their defense of Victor Wembanyama

>“What's very important when trying to guard Victor Wembanyama is your point of attack defender and that'll probably be OG Anunoby… When Victor Wembanyama's in the paint, he's probably the most… pic.twitter.com/Wpz8cmHx8C

>— The Draymond Green Show (@DraymondShow) June 3, 2026

>Greens’ comments came after the postseason, where Wembanyama kept scoring against teams that did not defend him closely. Wembanyama was really good during the Spurs playoff games in the Western Conference. He used his ability to score from outside and inside to beat the teams.

>The Knicks have a lot of ways to defend against Wembanyama. They have Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, and Karl-Anthony Towns, who can all guard him in ways. This gives their coach, Mike Brown, a lot of options during games.

If Mitchell Robinson is healthy, that will be a deal. He is very important to the Knicks’ defense because he can rebound and protect the basket. If he is playing, the Knicks can put another player behind Anunoby when Wembanyama tries to score inside.

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>The Knicks were also able to make the Spurs turn the ball over during some games in the season. Even though Wembanyama still scored a lot, the Knicks showed they could make things tough for him by sending defenders and blocking his passes.

We will have to wait and see if this works in the finals. If Green is right, the Knicks might not need to stop Wembanyama one-on-one. Instead, they might need to work to defend against Wembanyama every time he gets the ball. The Knicks need to build a defense, around Wembanyama to stop him.