In his third year in the NBA, Victor Wembanyama is finally reaching many milestones we all knew were coming when he entered the league. While he made his first All-Star appearance last season, it was ultimately cut short due to deep vein thrombosis, and he missed out on award and All-NBA eligibility due to only playing in 46 games. (Although he still received the blocks leader award thanks to an exception in which his total blocks divided 58 — the number of games required for stat leaders — still beat
the next leader’s total blocks/58 games.)
This year, Wemby is eligible for awards — albeit just barely — after appearing in 65 regular season games, which included the NBA Cup Final (which you won’t see on official stat sheets because that game otherwise counts for nothing, but it does in this regard). The first of what should be several more recognitions has dropped, with Wemby winning his first of what should be many Defensive Player of the Year awards. He beat out fellow finalists Chet Holmgren and Ausar Thompson for the award and is the first unanimous winner in NBA history, and he’s also the youngest to ever win it. Wemby joins Alvin Robertson, David Robinson and Kawhi Leonard as the 4th Spur to ever win the award. (Somehow, Tim Duncan never did.)
Wemby led the NBA in blocks with 197 (just over three per game) while totaling 66 steals. He also finished second in the league in defensive rating (110.4) and defensive rebounds (9.5).
Wemby is also a finalist for Most Valuable Player, along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, which will be announced in mid-May on an unspecified date. At this point, SGA seems like the odds-on favorite, and it wouldn’t at all surprise me if between the relatively low number of minutes played this season and lack of playoff appearances when the votes were tallied, the voters just aren’t ready to give that award to Wemby. That being said, if he does win MVP this season or another time in which he also wins DPOY, he will join elite company with only Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Giannis Antetokounmpo achieving the feat.
Other Spurs up for rewards that have scheduled announcements include Keldon Johnson for Sixth Man of the Year (announced on Wednesday on ESPN at 5:00 CT) and Harrison Barnes for the Sportsmanship award (announced on Thursday via the NBA). Also, Mitch Johnson is a finalist for Coach of the Year and De’Aaron Fox for Teammate of the Year, which like the MVP, has yet to be assigned announcement dates.
The Spurs will play Game 2 against the Trail Blazers tomorrow at 7:00 PM CT on NBC and Peacock.
