Only voter to leave Victor Wembanyama off All-NBA First Team ballot explains controversial decision

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is one of the most team-oriented players in the NBA, but he received a major individual honor on Sunday when he was named to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career.

The selection came as no surprise after Wembanyama finished third in MVP voting behind only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, and the balloting reflected how obvious of a choice he was: the third-year big man received 99 of 100 votes for the First Team.

That means one voter kept Wembanyama from becoming a unanimous choice alongside Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic, and that voter explained his controversial decision on Monday.

Here's what he had to say.

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Why Victor Wembanyama wasn't unanimous All-NBA First Team selection

SiriusXM NBA Radio host Justin Termine revealed Monday that he was the lone voter who left Wembanyama off his First Team All-NBA ballot and said he did so because he doesn't fill out a "position-less" ballot.

"I think [Wembanyama's] a better player than SGA right now. I think he is the best player in the world right now," Termine said. "But I thought Jokic had a better regular season at the same position. ... This year [Wembanyama] was the second best center, and I vote by position."

Termine explained that he maintains that philosophy because of historical precedent. 

"In my opinion it is unfair historically to those who came before us, who I have great respect for, that those guys at center were not allowed to be on the First Team at the same time," he said.

Termine pointed to the 1993-94 season, when Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Shaquille O'Neal made the All-NBA teams while Patrick Ewing, who finished fifth in MVP voting, was left off simply because he played the same position as that trio. 

With All-NBA selections influencing historical debates between players, Termine said, it isn't fair in his mind to play by different rules with the balloting today.

Why I was the lone voter to leave Wemby off 1st Team All-NBA. pic.twitter.com/jWuwKdx46s

Before the 2023-24 season, the All-NBA teams were sorted by position, with only one center on each of the three teams. That often created some imbalance. The 2016 All-NBA First Team infamously featured DeAndre Jordan next to LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard, while other seasons with strong center play would see stellar big men such as Joel Embiid pushed down to the second or third team.

This season is one of the scenarios the switch to position-less ballots addressed, as Wembanyama would have landed on the All-NBA Second Team if only one center could make the First Team. Termine stuck by that tradition for fairness' sake, but it wasn't nearly enough to change the outcome. 

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All-NBA First Team voting 2026

Here are the complete results from the All-NBA First Team balloting:

Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic, Wembanyama and Luka Doncic all received more than 90 of 100 possible First Team votes, with Cade Cunningham earning the final spot over Jaylen Brown by a margin of 30 points.