By james art 
With a 2-3 record through its first five games, the San Antonio Spurs off to a poor start in the 2024-25 season. High expectations were set Gregg PopovichThis year’s team, especially with Victor Wembanyama positioned as one of the league’s rising stars. However, ex NBA standout recently made a scathing criticism of the French centre, citing a well-known Kobe Bryant quote to describe his game.
“He’s as soft as Charmin” Eddie Johnson noted for Wembanyama during an interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio. The former Phoenix Suns player and 1989 NBA Sixth Player of the Year was direct in his assessment of the young center’s season. “He’s soft. He’s soft on offense and he’s soft on defense.”
Expanding on his analysis, Johnson criticized the 20-year-old’s style of play: “He wants to be a (expletive) guard; he throws threes all the (expletive) time. He wants to show everyone that he has a crossover.
Johnson continued by sharing his perspective on what Wembanyama needs to do to have a bigger impact on the court. “Dude, you’re the tallest dude in the league. Get your ass in the paint. Be fierce. Try to sink some people to come back. Next time they won’t stick their hand in there,” he advised before repeating: “He’s soft right now.”
Eddie Johnson #8 of the Phoenix Suns looks on during a 1989 NBA game at the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Kobe Bryant reference
Johnson “soft as Charmin” the comment is a direct nod to Kobe Bryantwho popularized the phrase in his later years with Los Angeles Lakers. In a well-known practice session, Kobe famously berated his teammates, yelling: “Now I understand why we lost so many games. We’re as soft as Charmin!’ The statement quickly went viral among NBA fans, and Bryant later clarified that he was trying to increase the intensity level on his team.
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Victor Wembanyama ignored the critics and made NBA history with the San Antonio Spurs against the Utah Jazz
Wembanyama’s performance so far
Eddie Johnson’s remarks may be valid as it is obvious that San Antonio Spurs have had a slow start to the NBA season. But it would be unfair to put responsibility only to Victor Wembanyama, who put in an impressive performance in several games.
Wembanyama is currently averaging 18.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game (both team highs) along with 3.2 assists (second only to Chris Paul). He also played a key role in Spurs’ two wins this season, contributing significantly to wins over Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz.