Since arriving in the league three years ago, Wembanyama has not exactly played nice. He has come in hard and made the obvious impossible to ignore. On Monday night, the NBA confirmed what everybody has known for months: the French centre Victor Wembanyama is the league’s best defender, named DPOY 2025-2026.
La video des Spurs pour l’annonce du premier DPOY de Victor Wembanyama…🤯🎬 pic.twitter.com/hS7bzjS4TZ
— 50 Nuances 🇺🇸🏀 (@50NuancesDeNBA) April 20, 2026
A unanimous win. The first in the history of the award, which was created in 1983. Yes, really. In more than four decades, nobody had ever convinced every single voter. Not Dikembe Mutombo, not Ben Wallace, not even Kawhi Leonard at his peak. Wembanyama did it at 22. No argument, no debate, not a single dissenting vote anywhere in American or global media.
Three seasons to close the case
A quick look back is worth it, because it needs telling. In his rookie year, Wemby finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Second, as a first-year player, in a league full of athletic freaks who have been doing this for years. The following season, he went in as the clear favourite before a medical issue blew the whole thing up. This year, no excuses, no bad luck.
3 minutos de lo que fue la temporada DPOY de Victor Wembanyama
Me parece que si se mantiene sano, los ganará todos por mucho…mucho tiempopic.twitter.com/VfTfpQE9rH
— Master Clutch (@MasterClutch_) April 20, 2026
He led the league in blocks for a third straight season, spent his nights terrorising guards the moment they got near the paint, and turned every offensive possession into a group nightmare for opposing teams. Chet Holmgren of Oklahoma City and Ausar Thompson of Detroit were among the finalists. Two excellent players, two proper defensive seasons. But against Wembanyama, there was nothing to negotiate.
His teammate Keldon Johnson did not bother dressing it up: “Best player in the world.” Three words. Clean. Final.
Records that leave your head spinning
This trophy is not just a nice graphic for social media. It comes with a stack of historic records that is enough to make your head spin. Wembanyama is now the youngest Defensive Player of the Year in the award’s history, with his 23rd birthday still not coming until next January. He joins David Robinson and Michael Jordan as the only players to win both Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in their careers. San Antonio, meanwhile, becomes the first franchise to produce four different winners of the award, after Alvin Robertson in 1986, Robinson in 1992 and Leonard in 2015 and 2016.
But maybe the most striking detail is this. Wembanyama has just won two major awards by unanimous vote: Rookie of the Year in 2024, Defensive Player of the Year in 2026. Nobody, in at least the last 50 seasons, had managed that. Not LeBron James. Not Michael Jordan. For comparison, those two names never won a single major individual award by unanimous vote in their careers. Wembanyama has two. At 22.
This is only the start
The NBA awards season is not done yet. Clutch Player of the Year will be announced on Tuesday, with Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray in the running. Then comes the MVP, the top prize, with the result not due until late next week at the earliest. Wembanyama is a finalist, alongside reigning winner Gilgeous-Alexander and three-time winner Nikola Jokic. What is already locked in, though, is his place on the All-NBA First Team and the All-Defensive Team. Four trophies minimum by the end of the season. At 22.
Keldon Johnson, again, summed it up with blunt honesty: “It’s just a preview of what’s coming. He’s special on the floor, even more so off it.” Hard to argue. Because if Wembanyama is doing this now, at this age, with this level of consistency, the question is no longer whether he’ll become the greatest player ever. The question is how far he can go. And right now, that might be the most exciting question in world basketball.
Credit: Photo by RONALD CORTES / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
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