Sports

Kevin Durant, Victor Wembanyama Show Mutual Respect After Matchup

Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant and San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama showed love to each other after the game.

PHOENIX — It was a night that featured plenty of ups and downs, regardless of what team you were rooting for.

The Phoenix Suns saw a 20-point lead to the San Antonio Spurs crumble in front of their very own eyes in a 115-114 loss on Tuesday. With names such as Kevin Durant and Victor Wembanyama highlighting the matchup, fans indeed got their money’s worth throughout the course of the game.

Wembanyama finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks on the night, which included a handful of nice plays while heavily being guarded by Durant.

There’s a handful of similarities between the two phenoms, and Wembanyama even went as far as to call Durant his favorite player previously.

There were a few highlight plays Wembanyama had on Durant, though the Suns forward was able to give him a few “welcome to the NBA” moments:

Durant finished with 26 points and seven assists.

“He is a unique player. He is going to be a force in this league for a long time. Once he continues to get experience under his belt, he is going to get even better,” said Durant when asked about facing Wembanyama.

Wembanyama returned the favor:

“It is special. He is really a problem and I can see that. His teammates really look for him. They make him a problem too. The way they set up the plays and they try to look for him. I definitely think he is the hardest player to guard. I just played against him once and I know I haven’t seen everything from him but I think he is up there.”

The two sides will meet again on Thursday, though Durant and Wembanyama showed some immediate respect following their first of many clashes.

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