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Victor Wembanyama<\/strong>, as expected, was announced Monday as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year<\/strong>. The San Antonio Spurs<\/strong> center had already finished second in the voting in his rookie year and was the favorite last season before a medical problem sidelined him. This time, he left no doubt.<\/p>\n At 22 years old, he becomes the youngest ever winner<\/strong> of the DPOY<\/strong> award.<\/p>\n “The real challenge was to get to the 65 games<\/strong>,” said Wembanyama – in reference to the minimum required to be eligible. “But I’m very happy to win this award and very proud to be the first to achieve it unanimously<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n Chet Holmgren<\/strong> (Oklahoma City Thunder<\/strong>) finished second and Ausar Thompson<\/strong> (Detroit Pistons<\/strong>) third, both key to their teams securing the lead heading into the NBA Playoffs<\/strong>. However, the choice was never really in doubt.<\/p>\n Wembanyama, at over 2.20 meters tall, led the NBA in blocks<\/strong> for the third consecutive season and established himself as a dominant force on defense<\/strong>, being a constant nightmare for any opposing offense.<\/p>\n “He’s the best player in the world,” said teammate Keldon Johnson<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Wembanyama’s award is accompanied by multiple milestones in NBA history<\/strong>:<\/p>\n He is the first winner under the age of 23.<\/p>\n The San Antonio Spurs<\/strong> become the first franchise with four different players to win the Defensive Player of the Year<\/strong> (along with Alvin Robertson<\/strong>, David Robinson<\/strong> and Kawhi Leonard<\/strong>).<\/p>\n He joins Michael Jordan<\/strong> and Robinson as the only players to win both Rookie of the Year<\/strong> and DPOY<\/strong>.<\/p>\n But his most impressive achievement is another: he obtained 100% of the votes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Since Stephen Curry<\/strong> was the unanimous MVP<\/strong> in 2016, very few players have achieved anything similar. In fact, Wembanyama had already done so as Rookie of the Year 2024<\/strong>, and now he repeats with the Defensive Player of the Year<\/strong>.<\/p>\n No player in at least the last 50 years – and probably in history – had won two major individual awards unanimously<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Frenchman is also a finalist for the NBA MVP<\/strong> award, along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/strong> and Nikola Jokic<\/strong>, which virtually guarantees his presence in the All-NBA First Team<\/strong>. In addition, his defensive award automatically places him in the All-Defensive Team<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In total, Wembanyama already has at least four major accolades<\/strong> guaranteed this season.<\/p>\n Even so, the player wanted to highlight the collective work:<\/p>\n “Sometimes teamwork<\/strong> is forgotten. I’m here, in the spotlight, but I’m part of a system. I couldn’t achieve this without my teammates or the coaching staff.”<\/p>\nTotal domination in the NBA<\/h2>\n
A historic award<\/h2>\n
What’s next for Wembanyama<\/h2>\n