Victor Wembanyama Is The First Unanimous Defensive Player Of The Year In NBA History And Should Probably Win The Award Every Year For The Rest Of His Career

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While there may be some suspense around a few of the NBA's Awards, that was most definitely not the case when it came to the Defensive Player Of The Year. In fact, you could make the case that the only reason there were three names mentioned as finalists was a formality, because anyone who watched the NBA this season knows that there was one player who rose above all others when it came to this award

Uhhhhhhhh ya think? I'd love to hear someone's argument that another player was better defensively than Wemby this season, because as great as they may have been on that end of the floor, they weren't Wemby. It's not just the box scores or the advanced metrics either. It's the fact that maybe outside of prime Gobert, we haven't seen a player force their opposition to simply not even consider trying to score/look at the rim while he's on the floor just by existing. The only real question when it came to Wemby's DPOY was if would be unanimous (which it should be)

The answer? Yup!

So for those keeping track at home, Wemby is the first unanimous ROTY in NBA history and now the first unanimous DPOY in NBA history

Giphy Images.

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If we were to really be honest when it comes to Wemby and this award, he should probably already have two. I'm not sure how he didn't win as a rookie (71 games), and the only reason he didn't win last year was because of his blood clot which limited him to 46 games, but then this year we learned that the 65 Game Rule is kind of bullshit, so I'm ready to say Wemby got robbed of that one as well. 

For a quick resume update, through 3 NBA seasons Wemby is now a

- 2x All Star

- 1x All NBA (most likely 1st Team)

- 3x BLK Champion

- 2x All NBA Defense (assuming 1st team nod this year)

- All Rookie

- ROTY (unanimous)

- DPOY (unanimous)

One has to think that Wemby has at least one MVP in his future, and remember when the narrative was pushed before Wemby entered the NBA that if he had Hakeem Olajuwon's career, it would be a failure? Well, through just 3 seasons, Wemby is well on his way to surpassing Hakeem The Dream as long as he stays healthy and continues to hit the 65 Game limit

The BLK Champ and DPOY's are locks. I would say so are the All Stars, All NBAs, and All Defense as long as Wemby is able to play, and shit the Spurs could very well win the title this year, which would most likely lead to Wemby's first Finals MVP. If you think he's destined for more than one MVP, that would take care of that as well.

This is all to say that, as lofty as the expectations may have been for Wemby as he entered the league, in just 3 years he's already backed up all of the hype and then some. 

When it comes to DPOY, I just don't see how Wemby shouldn't be the unanimous choice for every season in which he qualifies for the rest of his career. Who could possibly put up a better defensive season than Wemby? What does that even look like? Remember, Wemby is only going to get better as he ages. Ben Wallace and Rudy Gobert are tied for the most DPOYs ever with 4, and should he hit the games played requirement, Wemby should have that many before he hits his NBA prime years of 27-28(ish). Are we all aligned at how insane that is? That before Wemby even hits his prime, he could and should have the most DPOYs in NBA history? I'm supposed to act like that's normal?

Essentially, whether you've accepted it yet or not, we're all fucked. This is why if you root for a team that has dreams of winning a title, you better hope you already have one. If you have a player on your favorite team that you wish would win MVP or DPOY, I'm sorry to say, but those days are numbered as well. I don't know if we're watching the next GOAT or not, but what I do know is that it feels like that's where we're headed with Wemby. If he also somehow pulls off a title this year? I'm not sure you can deny it.