Victor Wembanyama becomes first unanimous NBA Defensive Player of the Year

Victor Wembanyama made a bit of NBA history on Monday, becoming the first ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year. 

The Spurs big man earned all 100 first-place votes from the group of media members tasked with voting for this year’s league awards, beating out Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and Detroit’s Ausar Thompson. 

Wembanyama became the youngest player to win the award since it was first handed out following the 1982-83 season. 

It didn’t come as a surprise that Wembanyama was given the Defensive Player of the Year award, considering his impact on that side of the ball for San Antonio during the regular season. 

Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) blocks the shot of Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the second quarter at Ball Arena. Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Wembanyama averaged a league-leading 3.1 blocks per game in 64 games and opposing teams shot 40.7 percent from the field against the 7-foot-4 Spurs star. 

He also had 66 steals and had the NBA’s second-best defensive rating at 110.4. 

“Everything that [he’s] achieved so far has been earned and never given,” teammate Keldon Johnson said, per ESPN. “He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around. He takes his craft very seriously and I feel like this is just a small token of what’s to come for Victor. He’s a special player on the court and an even more special person off the court.”

Wembanyama is the first Spurs player to win Defensive Player of the Year since Kawhi Leonard won the honors in back-to-back seasons in 2014-15 and 2015-16. 

Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs celebrates after the game against the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 19, 2026 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NBAE via Getty Images

Wembanyama is also a finalist for the MVP award, along with fellow finalists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.

The Spurs are in the middle of a first-round playoff series with the Trail Blazers and are holding a 1-0 series lead after defeating Portland 111-98 in Game 1. 

Game 2 is slated to take place on Tuesday in San Antonio.