
Spurs' Wembanyama captures first career DPOY
Victor Wembanyama captures his first NBA Defensive Player of the Year award!
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs has won the 2025-26 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, becoming the youngest player to achieve this honor and the first unanimous selection in its history.
The NBA made it official Monday. Victor Wembanyama won the 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year award, becoming the first unanimous selection in the history of the honor.
The San Antonio Spurs center didnāt just beat out the competition, he left no room for debate.
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This was supposed to happen a year ago. Wembanyama looked like a lock for the award in 2024-25 before a blood clot ended his season after 46 games. The injury wiped out what seemed like an inevitable win and left the race wide open.
This season, nothing got in the way. No setbacks, no controversies, no second-guessing. Wembanyama dominated on the defensive end all year. He swallowed up shots at the rim, erased driving lanes, and turned entire offensive schemes sideways just by stepping on the floor.
Opposing teams spent timeouts trying to figure out how to work around him. Most of them failed. The 7-foot-4 center put up 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists over 64 games.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama
He beat out Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren for the award, who finished second in voting. Wembanyama now owns two straight top-two finishes in Defensive Player of the Year balloting after placing runner-up to during his 2023-24 Rookie of the Year campaign.
Victor Wembanyama became the youngest player to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, although his exact age at the time of the award is not specified.
Wembanyama suffered a blood clot injury that ended his 2024-25 season after 46 games, which prevented him from winning the award that year.
Wembanyama's award is significant because he is the first player to be a unanimous selection for the Defensive Player of the Year in NBA history.

Victor Wembanyama captures his first NBA Defensive Player of the Year award!

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The award also came with another piece of history. Wembanyama became the youngest player ever to win Defensive Player of the Year, breaking a record that stood for decades.
His offense draws plenty of attention. Wembanyama can handle the ball in transition, knock down threes, post up smaller defenders, and score from the mid-range with ease.
But itās his defense that separates him from everyone else in the league. After watching his chance slip away last season, Wembanyama finally collected the hardware that felt overdue.