NBA Executives Have Major Expectations of Victor Wembanyama in 2025

The NBA is comprised of some of the best basketball players in the world, now spanning all across the globe as the league continues to fill with international talent. When it comes to deciding on who's the best, there can only be one.

Every year, NBA.com surveys league general managers, asking questions about players, teams, transactions and storylines around the NBA. When it came to voting on who the best defender in the NBA is, there was a clear winner and favorite in that category.

NBA GMs vote on the best defenders in the league:

Best Defensive Player:
Victor Wembanyama

Best Perimeter Defender:
Dyson Daniels

Best Interior Defender:
Victor Wembanyama

Most Versatile Defender:
Amen Thompson

(Via https://t.co/wWGNmWoaNH) pic.twitter.com/KAQleKPgqv
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 9, 2025

Taking 80 percent of the vote, after winning last year with just 40 percent, San Antonio Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama was voted as the league's best defender. Wembanyama beat out fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert (7 percent) as well as Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (7 percent). While Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lu Dort also received votes, nobody came close to the Spurs star.

Victor Wembanyama's Defense

Victor Wembanyama played in only 46 games last season.

He still led the NBA with 178 blocks.

Wemby was on pace to finish with about 130 more blocks than next closest player. pic.twitter.com/VmeTgEi3zf
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) October 7, 2025

Standing 7-foot-4 and having the mobility to get to unique spots, attacking the rim against Wembanyama isn't that easy. Over his first two years in the NBA, Wembanyama has totaled 430 blocks so far while appearing in 117 games. Coming out to an average of 3.7 blocks per game, Wembanyama is no stranger to being disruptive around the rim.

In addition to that, he also averages just over a steal per game in his career, as he's no stranger to preventing teams from putting the ball in the basket. While elite shot-blockers like Gobert typically don't see much progression in their blocks total year-by-year, Wembanyama could very well be the exception.

Victor Wembanyama shot faking a 3, putting his head down to drive, trying to hit first in the paint. I'm intrigued. pic.twitter.com/ywusNYNfBO
— Steve Jones (@stevejones20) October 8, 2025

While he does have an All-Defensive First Team selection to his name, he came up short on winning the award last year due to not hitting the 65-game threshold to qualify. Even though winning the award won't change people's minds on him as a defender, Wembanyama has all the tools to be a multi-time winner.

As for the other superlatives, Wembanyama was frequently featured throughout the survey. Not only did he claim the title for best interior defender, but he was also the most-voted player for whom teams would want to start a franchise with today, beating out 2025 NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The NBA GM survey is out and there were plenty of Spurs appearances in there.

Victor Wembanyama was all over the survey:

- Best overall & best interior defender (80% of vote)
- Most versatile player (tied w/ Giannis)
- 4th in MVP rankings
- #1 player to start franchise with…
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) October 9, 2025

There's so much praise and potential to still improve for the 21-year-old as he heads into his third season in the NBA, and fans are ready to see him take another step in his game as a whole and bring the Spurs back to the postseason for the first time since 2019.

Victor Wembanyama's Defense

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