San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama was named the 2026 NBA Defensive Player of the Year on Monday night. Wembanyama is the first player to win the award unanimously. Oklahoma City Thunder Center Chet Holmgren, Wembanyama’s long-time rival, received 76 second-place votes.
Wembanyama’s challenge this season was reaching the 65-game minimum rule. He faced multiple injuries that caused him to miss time. His most recent injury was a rib contusion against the Philadelphia 76ers, with three games left to meet the minimum. He played just under 16 minutes against Philadelphia, which gave him an exception to the 20-minute rule. He had to sit out of the April 8 game against the Portland Trail Blazers. He finished the season with 64 games and used both exceptions.
In an interview about receiving the award, Wembanyama stated, “The real struggle might have been getting to 65 games. I’m super super happy to win this award and actually super proud to be the first ever unanimous.”
Wembanyama is the youngest player to ever win the award at only 22 years old. It is safe to say that Wembanyama will continue to receive this award for years to come. There are no other players right now achieving his defensive stats. Wembanyama is the third player in NBA history to block at least one shot in 100 straight games. He finished the season with a defensive rating of 110.4, 197 blocks and 66 steals.
The award makes the Spurs the first franchise to have four players win Defensive Player of the Year. The last Spur to receive the award was Kawhi Leonard in 2016. His teammates had high praise for Wembanyama after the announcement.
De’Aaron Fox stated, “He deters people from even shooting the ball. 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 teams’ offense.”
Wembanyama is one of the final three contenders for the NBA Most Valuable Player award. He has proven to be the best defensive player this season, but he will have to compete offensively against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.
