We’ve never seen anything like him.
By the end of his rookie season, at age 20, Victor Wembanyama was already one of the handful of best defenders in the NBA. He was second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, led the league in blocks, and was First Team All-Defense.
This season he’s going to take a giant leap forward — one got the first taste of that during the Paris Olympics — and saying he’s going to become the youngest player ever to win Defensive Player of the Year feels like the safe pick. My prediction:
2024-25 NBA Defensive Player of the Year:
1. Victor Wembanyama
2. Anthony Davis
3. Rudy Gobert
I expect Wembanyama will be a runaway winner here — can he average more than four blocks a game? His 8-foot wingspan also leads to a lot of steals — but other players will get in the conversation.
I have the Lakers’ Davis second but could have easily plugged in the Heat’s Bam Adebayo into that same spot, both are elite defenders but how they fare in voting will depend on the same thing: How good are their team defenses? Nobody is going to vote to give the DPOY to a player whose team is in the bottom half of the league in defense (and both the Heat and Lakers could end up there).
If a good team defense helps with DPOY voting, who gets a boost? Don’t leave off the previous youngest DPOY winner ever — Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies (he won at age 23 in his fifth season). If Memphis bounces back to a top-six finish in the West their defense will have a lot to do with it and Jackson is an elite defender.
Chet Holmgren in Oklahoma City will get votes if the Thunder defense is in the top five, as expected. Gobert is an elite defender and will always be in the mix, and the same is true of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who could be in the running for the award. If Dallas’ defense thrives this season another second-year player, Dereck Lively II, could get a look from voters. The same is true in New York, if their defense is elite one of the wings.
Betting Defensive Player of the Year
From NBC Sports’ Vaughn’s Dalzell, this is his favorite NBA Futures bet:
Victor Wembanyama to win NBA Defensive Player of the Year (-180)
Victor Wembanayama proved in his rookie season that he is a generational talent and will change the game in so many ways if you don’t believe so, watch his rare 27-point, 14-rebound, and 10-block triple-double against the Raptors — it’ll change your mind.
Focusing on his defense only, Wemby impacts the game in far more ways than just shot-blocking but that is arguably the most highlight-worthy part of his game. Wemby led the league with 3.6 blocks per game and 254 overall (24 games with at least 5 blocks). His 254 blocks are the most since Hassan Whiteside in 2015-16 over 73 games (269).
Wemy’s 8-foot wingspan allows him to make opponents second-guess taking a shot routinely and the passing lanes are minimal when he’s nearby. He finished top 50 in defensive net rating (111.2), tied 21st in steals (88), and tied 22nd in steals per game (1.2).
This year, I predict a 300-block and 100-steal season for Wemby, along with a Defensive Player of the Year trophy. The San Antonio star would be the first player since Spurs’ David Robinson (1991-92) and the Rockets’ Hakeem Olajuwon (1992-93) to accomplish this.
Robinson posted 300 blocks and 100 steals in his first three seasons in the NBA (1989-90, 90-91, 91-92), while Olajuwon accomplished this feat three times over four seasons (1989-90, 91-92, 92-93). Robinson won DPOY in 1991-92, while Olajuwon won back-to-back in 1992-93 and 1993-94. No one besides Wemby can post these types of numbers 30 years later.
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