After two consecutive defeats for the Spurs, ESPN had the idea of priority broadcasting their match against the Knicks, which ended in a beating for Victor Wembanyama and his teammates. It is therefore a choice which was strongly criticized by a former player.

The Spurs’ first five games were promising, having won three, including two in a row against a big Suns team. Their young recruit on whom the eyes of the world are focused, Victor Wembanyama, had also produced high-class performances. However, it seems that the Texans have recently returned to their old demons.

It was therefore following a monumental slap suffered against the Pacers this Monday that Gregg Popovich’s men traveled to Madison Square Garden to face the Knicks. Some fans wondered if they had learned their lesson from the previous match, it is clear that this was not the case with this new big defeat.

Wemby’s sad evening against the Knicks broadcast by ESPN, a bad choice?

Victor Wembanyama had a tough evening, finishing the match with 14 points at 28.6% (4/14), and only 1 block. It is therefore a performance well below the previous ones that ESPN decided to broadcast, and former Draft No. 1 Kenyon Martin did not mince his words in the face of this decision in the show of his friend Gilbert Arenas:

"You didn't put Philly and Boston on TV which is a good early season match-up, but you put the rookie on TV and they get the doors blew off."

– Kenyon Martin

Does he have a point? pic.twitter.com/0l9z75Stak

— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) November 9, 2023

It was ESPN’s fault. You didn’t show Philly and Boston on TV. Not true ? They didn’t broadcast Philly and Boston, which is a great matchup at the start of the season, but they showed the rookie on TV, and they took a big beating. People turned off their TVs. No one wanted to finish watching this. The other game was decided on the last possession… It’s because of all this excessive enthusiasm. Yes, he’s a generational talent, but he’s still a rookie. Number 1 in the Draft… You won’t give the best image of yourself to everyone.

According to the former Nuggets, the person responsible for the catastrophic evening at Wemby is none other than ESPN. He criticized the channel’s choice to broadcast this meeting rather than that between the 76ers and the Celtics, who are two direct competitors at the top of the table in the East. That said, despite this failed premiere at MSG for the French prodigy, he will still have many opportunities to catch the eye of the spectators. Starting with the next meeting against Rudy Gobert’s Wolves.

The baptism of Victor Wembanyama in the legendary arena of Madison Square Garden had the appearance of a hazing that the Americans were able to observe en masse. However, Kenyon Martin wanted to express his displeasure at seeing the rookie’s match being broadcast by ESPN rather than another.