Victor Wembanyama continues to sit comfortably at the top of the NBA. The French pivot from the San Antonio Spurs won the trophy for best defender of the season on Monday, becoming at 22 the youngest player to win the statuette, while awaiting a possible MVP.
The coronation of the 2.24 meter giant was expected as he dominated: he was selected as first choice – out of three – by the entire panel of journalists including the AFP, indicates the North American league on X. A first since the introduction of this award during the 1982-1983 season.
Excellent statistics
He succeeds Cleveland inside Evan Mobley, crowned last year having taken advantage of the ineligibility of Wembanyama, victim of a venous thrombosis which ended his season in February. Before Spurs’ No. 1, two French people were distinguished for their defense, Rudy Gobert (2018, 2019, 2021, 2024) and Joakim Noah (2014).
Wembanyama presents a unique defensive threat, thanks to the combination of his size and mobility, which has carried the San Antonio Spurs to second place in the Western Conference, well beyond expectations at the start of the season. He averaged 3.1 blocks per game during the regular season, being by far the first in this category. He totaled as many as 9 blocks in one game, during an overtime victory against the Pelicans in October.
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Elected rookie of the year in 2024 at the end of his first year, “Wemby” covets another trophy this season, that of MVP, the most prestigious. With 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in less than 30 minutes per game (29.2), he signed his most complete stat line. He is one of three finalists with the outgoing Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), and the Serbian Nikola Jokic (Nuggets), already three times awarded (2021, 2022, 2024).
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