Victor Wembanyama wins Defensive Player of the Year award as first ever unanimous winner

Victor Wembanyama's 3.1 blocks per game were 1.2 more than anybody else in the NBA.

(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS)

Nobody’s close to Wemby in blocked shots

Wembanyama led the league in blocks per game (3.1) for the third time in his three NBA seasons. He altered countless others as the league’s premier rim protector. He averaged over a block per game more than the league’s second-place finisher, fellow DPOY finalist Holmgren (1.9 blocks per game).

Wembanyama’s blocks alone placed him as the league leader in stocks (blocks + steals) per game, a combined metric frequently cited to measure a player’s defensive impact. But he added one steal per game to his tally as a defender who can impact the game in multiple ways.

Wemby’s defense = Spurs wins

Wembanyama’s defense translated to success for the Spurs. As a team, the Spurs ranked third in the league in defensive rating, largely due to Wembanyama’s impact. And the Spurs are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2019 as a championship contender.

Wembanyama won DPOY while anchoring a Spurs team that secured the NBA’s second-best record (62-20) and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. He made his playoff debut on Sunday, leading a 111-98 Spurs win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Wemby sneaks in with 65 games

Wembanyama’s game tally almost cost him DPOY for a second straight season. But he just reached the 65-game minimum threshold required by the NBA to be eligible for postseason awards.

That’s a tally that includes San Antonio’s loss to the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup final that doesn’t count in the standings but does count toward the 65-game minimum.

Several awards and All-NBA contenders, including Jokić, Luka Dončić, Cade Cunningham and Anthony Edwards, either flirted with or fell short of the 65-game minimum, raising debate about whether the standard is fair. In the end, Wembanyama didn’t have to worry about it after reaching the threshold in San Antonio’s penultimate game of the regular season.