The NBA has a lot of players with different styles of play, but there are two that are, arguably, the hardest to guard. That leads to the same question being asked to every defender: Who do you least want to face on a given night?

When that question was asked to retired NBA champion Richard Jefferson, his answer required no deliberation. On the podcast Road Trippin' with RJ & Channing, Richard Jefferson and his co-host Channing Frye were asked who they would rather face as an active player: guarding Stephen Curry or guarding Victor Wembanyama?

"I'd defend Victor Wembanyama any day. Stephen Curry? No offense — give me Wemby. Give me Wemby 100%," RJ said in response to the question.

This is especially noteworthy coming from someone who faced Curry on basketball’s biggest stage. Jefferson squared off against him in the 2016 and 2017 NBA Finals, and in 29 career matchups, Curry had the upper hand with an 18-11 record.

Of those 29 matchups, Curry obliterated Jefferson in the postseason with a 12-2 record, scoring an average of 23.6 points compared to Jefferson's 8.5.

There is also no question that Jefferson was not downplaying Wembanyama's talent. Jefferson conceded the dominance of the 7'4" center, who is not even 3 years into his NBA career, averaging 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, and an NBA-leading 3.08 blocks per game.

Jefferson noted that even that is not Wembanyama's ceiling. However, when it came time to evaluate who was currently a larger problem, Wembanyama or Curry, Jefferson did not hesitate.

"Steph different, man. Steph is one of the greatest of all time," Jefferson stated. "Everybody's different. But if you told me which one is harder to game plan for currently, now, eventually Wemby could be up there with the greatest to ever do it. But right now? You don't want to see Steph."

Curry’s 49-point outing against the Spurs in November 2025 really drives the point home. In five matchups with Wembanyama, Curry’s Warriors own a 4-1 edge in the Win column, and Curry boasts an impressive 35.4 points, giving the discussion some much-needed perspective.

It might be a little too soon to say Wemby is the lesser headache after what he has done in the current season and in the playoffs.

Wembanyama Is Building a Case That Cannot Be Ignored

Numbers alone do not always capture how suffocating a player is to defend, but Wembanyama's performance this season comes pretty close.

This season, he played 64 regular-season games, averaging 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 51.2 field goal percentage, and an impressive 3.1 blocks per game. Because of this, he also earned the Hakeem Olajuwon Defensive Player of the Year award.

It is the playoffs, and he is only getting better, as is evident by his stats through the Western Conference Finals, averaging 20.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, and a staggering 4.1 blocks per game over 15 games.

One of his defining moments came against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the playoffs, when he scored 41 points and grabbed 24 rebounds, breaking records as the youngest player to score 40 points in a playoff game.

Jefferson may be right about Curry for now, but Wembanyama is not waiting around to make his own argument.

Who would you rather guard, Steph or Wemby? Comment down below.

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Written by

Utsav Gupta

Edited by

Utsav Gupta