Victor Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs centre, has made history by becoming the first player to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award by unanimous vote since the honour was established in 1983. The French star received all 100 first-place votes from the panel of journalists and broadcasters who determine the award, the NBA announced on Monday. No player in over four decades of the award's history had previously achieved that distinction.
At 22 years and 98 days old, Wembanyama is also the youngest player ever to claim the honour. He led the league in blocked shots for the third consecutive season, averaging 3.1 blocks per game, and added a steal per game while posting career-high averages of 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds. His individual brilliance contributed to the Spurs finishing with the second-best record in the NBA at 62 wins and 20 losses, with the team ranking third in the league in defensive rating — a measure of points allowed per 100 possessions. Wembanyama secured the maximum 500 points in the voting; Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren was a distant second with 239 points.
The achievement places Wembanyama in rare company within the Spurs organisation, a franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, that has now produced a league-high four Defensive Player of the Year winners across five awards: Alvin Robertson (1986), David Robinson, Kawhi Leonard (2015 and 2016), and now Wembanyama. He and Robinson are the only two players since the 1991–92 season to win the award within their first three seasons in the league. "I'm super, super happy to win this award and actually super proud to be the first ever unanimous," Wembanyama said.
The announcement came a day after Wembanyama set a Spurs franchise record with 35 points in his playoff debut, helping San Antonio defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 111–98. "He changes the game so much," said Trail Blazers coach Tiago Splitter. Wembanyama also remains a leading candidate for the league's Most Valuable Player award, making him a central figure in what is shaping up to be a landmark postseason for the 21-year-old — he turns 22 on January 4 — generational talent. His combination of elite rim protection, offensive versatility, and floor-wide defensive impact has drawn widespread recognition as something genuinely new to the sport.