Basketball: Victor Wembanyama wins NBA defensive player of the year

Victor Wembanyama is the NBA's defensive player of the year. Photo / AFP

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has been named the NBA’s defensive player of the year, becoming the first unanimous winner in the award’s 43-year history.

Wembanyama, a France international and generational talent who has helped transform San Antonio into title contenders, earned a perfect 100 votes in the media ballot.

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chet Holmgren came in second in the voting, with the Detroit Pistons’ Ausar Thompson ranked third.

The win marked another milestone in the meteoric rise of Wembanyama, who at 22 is the youngest player in history to win the honour.

“I’m super, super happy to win this award and actually super proud to be the first-ever unanimous,” Wembanyama told NBC Sports Network following the award.

The 2.24m (7ft 4in) centre has been billed as the future face of the NBA ever since he landed in the league after being chosen by San Antonio with the top overall pick in the 2023 Draft.

Mixing prodigious defence with a potent offence, Wembanyama has excelled again this season and is regarded as one of the front-runners for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award.

Wembanyama led the league in blocks per game (3.08) for a third straight season and helped lead the Spurs to the No 3 ranking in the defensive ratings.

On Sunday (local time), Wembanyama lit up the playoffs in his first post-season game, scoring 35 points to go with five rebounds and two blocks as San Antonio defeated the Portland Trail Blazers.

German basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki told AFP in an interview before his induction to the Fiba Hall of Fame that Wembanyama was “changing the game as we speak”.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” the 2007 NBA MVP told AFP when asked about Wembanyama.

“His defence is so good that he changes the game just by being on the court and taking away some of the lay-ups and twos that other teams would usually take.”

Wembanyama insisted that he owed his success to the work of his teammates and the Spurs coaching staff.

“We often overlook the team aspect,” he 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.”

– Agence France-Presse