NBA Finals: Wemby stopper? How Karl-Anthony Towns has bested Victor Wembanyama

With the New York Knicks up 2-0, so much of the 2026 NBA Finals comes down to this: all Victor Wembanyama has to do is get past Karl-Anthony Towns. So far in this series, Wembanyama hasn’t been able to. Certainly not in the biggest moments.

With a minute left in Game 1 with the San Antonio Spurs down by four, Wemby tried to take Towns off the dribble so he could get to the cup and make it a one-possession game. Instead, Wembanyma bounced the ball off his own knee in an attempt to blow by Towns.

Turnover, Spurs lose.

In Game 2, with 12 seconds left in a tie game, Wembanyama hauled in a rebound over Towns after derailing Jalen Brunson’s shot, and then it was off to the races. Stephon Castle saw that Wembanyama had a step on Towns and the Spurs guard spun forward to clear the way. Wembanyama short-circuited again, this time choosing not to challenge Towns in a foot race and he embarrassingly threw the ball off Castle’s turned back.

Turnover again, Spurs lose again.

Moments like these make one wonder if Towns is in Wembanyama’s head or if Wembanyama simply isn’t up to the task of overcoming the Towns assignment. By most accounts, Towns has been the best player in the Finals and should be in pole position for Finals MVP, though the odds still favor Brunson for that honor. It is Towns — not Wemby or Brunson — who leads all players in plus-minus at plus-25, meaning the Knicks have outscored the Spurs by a whopping 25 points in his 68 minutes during the Finals.

The 11-year vet has steadied the Knicks on both ends in a tenuous series in which the Spurs, not the Knicks, have actually won the Brunson minutes. San Antonio simply hasn’t found a reliable answer for Towns, who is averaging 19.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4 assists per game on pristine efficiency.

And it’s all because Towns has bested Wembanyama in their minutes. At first glance, Wembanyama’s Finals debut looks impressive. The 22-year-old center is averaging 27.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in the first two games, some of the best numbers you’ll see on a Finals stage. According to Stathead tracking, only two other players have matched Wembanyama’s totals in the points, rebounds and blocks columns during any two-game span in the NBA Finals since the stats became official in 1983-84: Shaquille O’Neal in 2001 and Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994.

However, the spectacular statistical production rings hollow when we look closer at the matchup between Wembanyama and Towns. From my vantage point, the Knicks’ six-time All-Star big man is on the path to earning Finals MVP for his marvelous work against Wembanyama, who, up to this point, had statistically become the best player in the game.

Though it’s probably too early to call Towns a Wemby stopper, there’s no denying that Towns has flustered the Spurs’ ascendent big man. To understand how Towns has earned the status of Wembanyama’s new nemesis, the underlying player tracking data needs to be brought to the surface. In this series, Wembanyama already has seven turnovers when guarded by Towns, giving him a total of nine when defended by the Knicks center once we include the regular season.

If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. No defender has forced more turnovers while guarding Wembanyama this season. And that includes OKC defenders who have faced Wembanyama in more than 10 games this season. Reminder: Towns has done all this while facing Wembanyama in just four games (oddly enough, the league didn’t track the NBA Cup Championship).

Let me put this further into perspective. According to player tracking data, Towns has guarded Wembanyama for 124 possessions this season and forced nine turnovers. We could combine the work of Isaiah Hartenstein (who forced two turnovers in 180 possessions guarding Wemby this season) and Rudy Gobert (three turnovers forced in 164 possessions), and the turnover count still wouldn’t add up to KAT’s individual total.

Actually, we could combine Hartenstein and Gobert’s work against Wembanyama, throw in Defensive Player of the Year award winners Evan Mobley and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and that still would be true. While we’re here, we could toss Joel Embiid, Bam Adebayo, Al Horford, Anthony Davis, Robert Williams and Donovan Clingan into the pile. Add it all up and you’d still not see as many Wemby turnovers as what Towns has forced this season. That’s right: in 569 possessions, a group of 10 of the game’s elite defenders forced eight Wemby turnovers compared to nine forced by Towns — with Towns doing that in less than a fourth of the time.

Famously, Wembanyama made quick work of Chet Holmgren this season. Holmgren defended Wembanyama for nearly an identical amount this season as Towns has; 126 possessions for Holmgren and 124 for Towns. The outcomes, however, have been vastly different.

Wembanyama has scored 34 points and registered nine turnovers against Towns, while he tallied a staggering 57 points with five turnovers against Holmgren. It’s hard to overstate how baffling it is to witness such a development. Holmgren finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Towns didn’t receive a single vote. Not for Defensive Player of the Year, or any of the All-Defensive teams for that matter.

Many analysts — including me — envisioned Knicks coach Mike Brown using the more mobile OG Anunoby (who was second-team All-D) on Wembanyama in the Finals. However, the bulk of the assignment has gone to Towns, a guy who has built himself into a strong defender after being derided at times in his career for his play on that end of the floor. Towns has more than stepped up to the challenge, moving laterally enough to stay in front of Wembanyama and not giving up precious paint real estate in the matchup. In the series, according to NBA player tracking data, Wembanyama is shooting a woeful 7-of-19 against Towns, with most of those shots coming from the perimeter.

That’s not to say Towns has guarded him every single time. Brown elected to have Mitchell Robinson defend Wembanyama on the final possession of the game, and it worked. Towns, with five fouls, watched from the bench as Wembanyama’s midrange jumper over Robinson went wayward at the final buzzer. Towns’ work had already been done, putting Wembanyama in check for the majority of the game and giving him fits under the bright lights.

Towns’ elite deployment of discipline, footwork and strength has largely kept Wembanyama in front of him and allowed the rangy Knicks wings to swipe at the Spurs star as he puts his head down against Towns. The Knicks’ game plan is clear: keep Wemby out of the paint and let others wreak havoc when he puts the ball on the ground. The Spurs’ offensive output with Wembanyama on the floor has plummeted from 115.9 points per 100 possessions entering this series down to just 101.9 points, according to NBA.com advanced stats.

The playmaking side of the game has been all Towns. While Wemby has routinely coughed up the ball against Towns, the Knicks center has eight assists to just four turnovers, continuing his “point center” star turn in the playoffs. Towns’ steadiness has rescued the Knicks from some uneven Brunson play, especially in the second quarter when the Knicks rallied back into the game with Brunson catching a breather.

This is what Leon Rose and the Knicks’ front office envisioned when they acquired Towns for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a 2025 first-round pick in the lead-up to the 2024-25 season. He has been the quintessential big man for Brunson, offering the necessary force, floor spacing, playmaking and defense to make the Knicks whole.

Now, the New Jersey native is further than he’s ever been, within arm’s reach of holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy in a Knicks uniform. All Towns had to do was make the guy known as The Alien look human. So far, so good.