'Super Proud': Wemby Reacts to Becoming NBA's First Unanimous Defensive Player of the Year

SAN ANTONIO - Victor Wembanyama is officially the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year in NBA history.

The league made the announcement on Monday night, the day after the third-year superstar dominated his playoff debut. The only thing that could have prevented him from winning his first DPOY is the 65-game minimum that kept him off the ballot last year. When he hit that mark this time, the only question was if any voters would have made the unbelievable assertion that there was a better defender in the NBA this year than the 7-foot-4 Frenchman.

"The real struggle might have been getting to 65 games, but I'm super, super happy to win this award, and actually super proud to be the first ever unanimous," Wembanyama said on Monday night the the NBA on NBC crew.

The 22-year-old Wembanyama is also the youngest player to ever win the honor since the league started awarding it in 1983. The only players to ever average more points per game as the DPOY are Michael Jordan, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Hakeem Olajuwon. He joins Alvin Robertson, David Robinson, and Kawhi Leonard as the Spurs to win the award, making them the only franchise with four.

When asked a few weeks ago, Wembanyama admitted he'd be surprised if it wasn't unanimous. Stephon Castle agreed.

"Yeah, I would be. I don't think there's really any other answer in the world," Castle said. "I feel like across the league, I feel like everybody feels like he's DPOY."

Chet Holmgren and Ausar Thompson were the other two finalists, and they're both spectacular defenders but neither got any first-place votes.

Wemby of course led the league with 197 blocks, averaging 3.1 blocks and a steal per game. He's one of the most devastating shot blockers the game has ever seen.

"I've had the chance to have great coaches over my career that have taught me great habits on defense and my shot blocking, especially since we're talking about it, is something I've been working on forever," Wembanyama said Monday night. "It's probably the area in the game where I feel most comfortable."

Wembanyama was beaming when he talked to the NBC broadcast, sitting with his mother and reminiscing about a moment he shared with the award's namesake and a mentor of his, Hakeem Olajuwon.

"I'm smiling because I was just reminding myself of the time I was actually at Hakeem's and looking at this plaque, you know, saying basically a block shots leader all time, right? And he was like, You're gonna beat that one day. So, you know, one step at a time," Wembanyama said.

But Wembanyama's defensive impact goes well beyond shot blocking, as his presence at the rim prevents shots from happening and allows his teammates to be more aggressive on the perimeter.

"I think there's a two fold part to that," said his coach Mitch Johnson, who said he'd never seen a player with that kind of impact. "One is it allows you maybe be more creative in ways, because there's a pretty consistent level of resistance behind you, and sometimes that's just prevention, because it is, at times, not the smartest move to go attack in a way that maybe you don't have an advantage on."

Wembanyama was sure to shout out his teammates and coaches as he accepted the accolade.

"We can we often overlook the team aspect, because I'm sitting here, I happen to be the guy that's put in the spotlight, but I am part of the system, and I couldn't get this award and I couldn't do what I do if it wasn't for my teammates, who actually do the rotations and allow me to be in the spotlight," Wembanyama said. "If it wasn't for my coaching staff, you know, Sean Sweeney, the defensive coach of our team, sitting here with us right now, Mitch Johnson as well. You notice I fit in a system, meaning I happen to be the guy who benefits from it. But we cannot forget about these guys either."

According to Cleaning the Glass, the Spurs are a whopping 12.3 points per 100 possessions better defensively when Wembanyama is on the floor. The worst offense in the league scored 108.2 points per 100 possessions this season, and Spurs opponents managed just 103.2 points per 100 possessions with Wemby out there. His defensive gravity and value to his team has been compared to how Steph Curry broke the offensive side when he became the first unaniomous MVP.

After his sparkling playoff debut, Mitch Johnson spoke about how Wembanyama orchestrates everything for this top-three defense.

"I thought he really settled in there at a point when our defense kicked it into another gear, and the guys organized and got set. He was doing a really good job of talking," Johnson said. "They did a good job of trying to kind of create multiple actions and some confusion. I thought he did a good job of quarterbacking from the from the second line, and get some guys organized and get him in the right spots."

Johnson is a finalist for Coach of the Year, and Keldon Johnson is a leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year. Wembanyama is up against Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Most Valuable Player.

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