<\/p>\n
Some of the actions Victor Wembanyama took in the playoffs this year have led people to think he\u2019s a dirty player, but former NBA champion Matt Barnes begs to differ.<\/p>\n
Wemby has been somewhat of a hero for the NBA with his ethical hoops, but we saw a bit of a different side to him, especially during the Knicks series.<\/p>\n
He executed some really dangerous fouls, most notably one on Jalen Brunson where he elbowed him the throat.<\/p>\n
He also skipped media availability after a loss and didn\u2019t shake the Knicks hans when they won the chip.<\/p>\n
However Barnes is siding with the French phenomenon.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople were taking a lot of cheap shots at him this year,\u201d \u00a0Barnes said on All The Smoke about Wembanyama<\/a>.\u201dI just think he got to a point, end of the season, I\u2019m worn out\u2026 If you\u2019re going to take a cheap shot at me, I\u2019m going to elbow you in the face, and I\u2019m going to mush Brunson. I want that for my superstar.\u201d<\/p>\n Let\u2019s not forget though, Wembanyama is a European and the style of basketball there is very physical, which prompted Barnes\u2019 argument to go further.<\/p>\n \u201c[Wembanyama] was an NBA darling since he\u2019s been in the league,\u201d Barnes said. \u201cThen the playoffs come and it\u2019s almost like some of the media has kind of flipped the whole persona and tried to magnify all the stuff he has and hasn\u2019t done.<\/p>\n \u201cThen I heard about him not shaking hands after the game. Wemby is an emotional person.\u201d<\/p>\n He added,\u00a0\u201cWemby wears his heart on his sleeve. If we rewind back, he\u2019s on some other s\u2014t right now. I think there may be a little barrier between him being from somewhere else and us expecting in our culture how people, superstars, should move and what they should and shouldn\u2019t do. But I don\u2019t think he gives a f\u2014k about none of that, at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: Record Police Presence Planned for Knicks Parade<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n