It turns out Victor Wembanyama wasn’t just talking. He was calling his shot.
The San Antonio Spurs star has been named the unanimous NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the 2025–26 season — becoming the first player ever to achieve the feat in NBA history.
Unanimous. A clean sweep. All 100 first-place votes.
Victor Wembanyama is the first unanimous Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year since the award’s inception in 1982-83.
The winner was selected by a global media panel of 100 voters.
Complete voting results ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/wIUDEDWJtm
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 20, 2026
The closest anyone has come before was Ben Wallace back in 2001–02, when he picked up 116 of 120 votes. Even then, the likes of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Dikembe
Mutombo managed to sneak in a few.
Wembanyama though? No stone left unturned.
Averaging 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, and a steal per game, the 22-year-old anchored one of the league’s most disruptive defenses — comfortably beating out fellow finalists Chet Holmgren and Ausar Thompson, who finished second and third.
Youngest Ever DPOY
As if unanimous wasn’t enough, Wembanyama also becomes the youngest Defensive Player of the Year in NBA history at just 22.
He’s also the first Spurs player to win the award since Kawhi Leonard went back-to-back in 2015 and 2016.
Wemby’s Foresight
But this moment didn’t come out of nowhere.
Back in 2024, shortly after entering the league, Wembanyama boldly suggested that Rudy Gobert’s dominance in the DPOY race wouldn’t last forever.
Two years later, he’s proven exactly why.
His rookie season didn’t allow him to compete for the award due to missed games, largely because of a deep vein thrombosis diagnosis in his right shoulder. But once eligible, he’s owned it.
Not Done With Accolades Yet
If that wasn’t enough, Wembanyama is also in the running for MVP alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.
Oh, and his playoff debut? Just a casual 35-point performance in a Game 1 win over the Portland Trail Blazers — the highest-scoring postseason debut in Spurs history, surpassing Tim Duncan’s 32 back in 1998.
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