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San Antonio Spurs star big man Victor Wembanyama was unanimously named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the 2025-26 season, and he did so in historic fashion.
Wembanyama, the 7ft 4in phenom, became the youngest player to win the prestigious award at just 22 years old. Better yet, he is the first to win this prize unanimously, and for good reason.
Wembanyama was a problem with and without the ball in his hands this season.
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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama plays during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on April 4, 2026. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
He earned all 100 first-place votes for the award, with Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder finishing with 76 second-place votes. Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson finished in third place when the ballots were counted.
The next closest player to a unanimous win for Defensive Player of the Year was Ben Wallace in the 2001-02 season, where he finished with four fewer votes in the 120-person panel.
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Although Wembanyama is also a finalist for the league MVP award, this one in particular is something he is looking to add to his career trophy collection.
Wembanyama was a 2024 rookie when fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert won his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award. However, Wembanyama, the Spurs’ first-round pick, said Gobert’s days as the league’s best defender will come to an end at some point.
He expected it to be his hand. And even though he failed to win an award last season after playing just 36 games, Wembanyama made sure to keep his word this year.
“I know Rudy has a very good chance of winning this year, and it would be deserved,” Wembanyama said at the time, according to ESPN. “Let him win now, because then it’s not his turn.”
Wembanyama’s prediction came true after he led the NBA in blocks with 197 this season, marking the second straight year he’s atop that category on the league’s stat sheet. He also had 66 steals and finished with a defensive rating of 110.4, which was second best in the NBA.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama plays during the first half against the Dallas Mavericks at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas on April 10, 2026. (Scott Wachter/Imagn Images)
“All that [he’s] “What I’ve accomplished so far has been earned and never given,” Spurs teammate Keldon Johnson said of Wembanyama. “He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around. He takes his job very seriously and I feel like this is just a small sign of what’s to come for Victor. He’s a special player on the field and an even more special person off the field.”
Of course, defending isn’t all about forcing turnovers, as Wembanyama used his tall stature to pull down the NBA’s second-most defensive rebounds (9.5), behind the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic. Jokic and Wembanyama join the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as three MVP finalists, with the latter hoping to repeat after the entire 2024-25 campaign.
Wembanyama has become the presence on both ends of the court that the Spurs always envisioned when they won the NBA draft lottery. Spurs veteran guard De’Aaron Fox knows players won’t even shoot the ball when they see it in front of them.
Victor Wembanyama (1) of the San Antonio Spurs stands on the court during their game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on March 17, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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“You’re talking about guys changing shots. He literally overrides guys even when they’re shooting the ball,” he said via ESPN. “They’ll see him in there and dribble the ball or kick it out. He changes the whole dynamic of your defense, and he changes the dynamic of the other team’s offense.”
Wembanyama and the Spurs also got off to a strong start in their first trip to the NBA Playoffs since the 2018-19 season, beating the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday to open their first-round series with a victory, 111-98. Wembanyama finished the game with a team-leading 35 points (13 of 21 shooting) with five rebounds, one assist and two blocks.
