The question was not whether Victor Wembanyama would win Defensive Player of the Year, but whether he would be the first-ever unanimous winner of the award.
Wembanyama was officially crowned as the Defensive Player of the Year on Monday, becoming the youngest player ever to win the award at age 22. He also is only the second player to win it in his third NBA season, joining fellow Spur David Robinson.
The 2025-26 @Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year is... Victor Wembanyama! pic.twitter.com/ypmVzV7EeA
Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren finished second in the voting, with Detroit's Ausar Thompson third. Four-time DPOY Rudy Gobert was fourth in the voting, with Toronto's Scottie Barnes fifth, with 13 players getting at least one vote from the panel of 100 select media members.
Wembanyama is the fourth Spur ever to win DPOY, joining Alvin Robertson, David Robinson and Kawhi Leonard (twice).
Wembanyama led the league in blocks per game (3.1) and total blocks (197), and in the tracking stats he led the league in opponent field goal percentage (40.7) and contested shots per game (9.3). All of those stats don't do his defense justice, the number of shots deterred — players drive the lane, see him, and either pass or dribble out — dwarfs that. He simply changes the geometry of the court.
This is likely the first of many DPOY awards for Wembanyama over the next decade.