The San Antonio Spurs superstar, Victor Wembanyama, was named Defensive Player of the Year on Monday night, becoming the first unanimous winner in NBA history while also securing the award as the youngest recipient ever at 22 years old.
After earning all 100 first-place votes, Wembanyama didn’t hide his pride.
“The real struggle might have been getting to 65 games,” Wembanyama said on NBC Sports Network on Monday. “But I’m super, super happy to win this award and actually super proud to be the first-ever unanimous.”
Wembanyama’s impact goes far beyond the stat sheet, though the numbers are staggering, leading the league in blocks for a second straight season while anchoring one of the NBA’s elite defenses. Teammates have been quick to point out just how unique his presence is on that end of the floor.
“Vic’s a lot different than a typical defender,” teammate Stephon Castle said. “Most of the time when somebody wins Defensive Player of the Year, it’s like more team defense and obviously, you have to be a great defender as well. But I feel like for Vic, he could’ve won it on any team in the league.”
Others went even further in describing his influence on opposing offenses.
“He deters people from even shooting the ball,” teammate De’Aaron Fox said. “You talk about guys that change shots. He literally negates guys even shooting the ball. They’ll see him in there and dribble the ball out or kick out. He changes the whole dynamic of your defense, and he changes the dynamic of other team’s offense.”
Despite the historic achievement, Wembanyama was quick to deflect credit back to the system around him.
“We often overlook the team aspect,” Wembanyama said. “I’m sitting here. I happen to be the guy who’s put in the spotlight, but I am part of a system, and I couldn’t get this award, and I couldn’t do what I do if it wasn’t for my teammates … and my coaching staff.”
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