Victor Wembanyama was named Defensive Player of the Year last night. The Frenchman clearly beat off the competition.
In the end, it was all about whether Wembanyama would reach the required 65 games. Since he made it, it was clear to everyone that the Frenchman would win the title of best defender for the first time in his career.
The fact that Wembanyama ultimately received all 100 first votes was surprising, as this had never happened since the award was introduced in the 1982/83 season. Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Ausar Thompson (Detroit Pistons) followed in second and third place. At just 22 years old, Wembanyama is the youngest player in NBA history to win this trophy.
Wemby youngest DPOY winner
The No. 1 pick from 2023 is hard to beat at 2.24 meters under the basket and once again led the league with an average of 3.1 blocks. He had 197 over the season – 44 more than second-placed Jay Huff (Indiana Pacers), who played 18 more games than Wemby.
With the Frenchman, the Spurs had a defensive team of 103.6 points allowed per 100 possessions; without Wemby, this figure rose to 113.7, which once again underlined the youngster’s value. Wembanyama is the third Frenchman to receive the honor after Joakim Noah (2014) and Rudy Gobert (2018, 2019, 2021, 2024). Last year, Evan Mobley from the Cleveland Cavaliers won the award.