With the second half of the NBA season underway, several awards races already appear to be decided. One of them was the race for Defensive Player of the Year, with San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama being the favorite to win the award before a season-ending injury.
With his season now over, he will fall far short of the 65-game threshold, having played in 46 games this season. Nevertheless, he was well-deserving, with him dominating on that end of the floor. He is on pace to lead the league in blocks per game and potentially even total blocks still, and that is just the beginning.
Wembanyama currently has the highest career stocks (steals and blocks) per game at 5.1. That is higher than Hakeem Olajuwon, who holds the record for total career blocks and averaged 1.1 steals per game over his legendary career.
Of course, the caveat is that Olajuwon played 1,000-plus more games, while Wembanyama has only 118 games thus far. Nevertheless, it's an impressive feat that shows he has the potential to be the greatest defensive player in NBA history.
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama's dominant season should force a much-needed rule change.
Unfortunately, he has already missed out on two chances to win Defensive Player of the Year. He likely should have won the award during his rookie season, and certainly this season with no one being close in terms of his defensive impact.
Even though he only played slightly more than half of the season. It would be one thing if he missed the games played target due to load management, but his injury was outside of his control and should lead to a rule change.
Wembanyama's dominance on the defensive end can't be understated. For example, he's on pace to rack up more than 3,000 blocks in just his 12th year, or his age 31 season. That would make him the fastest player to do so, potentially allowing him to rewrite the history books.
The fact that Wembanyama is so good, so early on, bodes well for his potential on the defensive end. He is getting by on skill and size but is still learning on that end of the floor. He'll first have to recover from his season-ending deep vein thrombosis (DVT) diagnosis, but he should be ready in time to start next season.
The Spurs' path to title contention starts on the defensive end.
With better personnel around him, the Spurs could build a contender by being stingy on defense. That would likely include a long-term lineup consisting of De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and Wembanyama, assuming that Castle continues to develop as a shooter to offset spacing concerns.
That would give the Spurs a versatile lineup with good size, length, and athleticism. It would allow them to force turnovers and get out and run while also being able to shut down teams in the halfcourt with the perimeter players staying home on shooters. Wembanyama would make that happen, with him serving as a deterrent and rim protector in the paint.
His knack for swatting shots and tipping passes at a historic rate gives San Antonio a high baseline on the defensive end. It also should allow for both team success and individual accolades, with Wembanyama having the potential to win many Defensive Player of the Year awards going forward. Just not this season, though his injury could force the NBA to abandon the minimum games-played requirement.