Sporting News NBA Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama will be the best defender of the modern era
Father Time is the only thing that he can't block. This is his award to keep on winning.
Sporting News NBA Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama will be the best defender of the modern era originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . There had never been a unanimous Defensive Player of the Year until 2026.
That makes sense, given that there has never been a defender like Victor Wembanyama until now. Wemby took home his first NBA DPOY earlier this year, and he also earns our Sporting News honors for 2026. This is the start of an era for him.
Nobody is going to topple the 7-foot-4 giant from his pedestal for a while, and he has a very good chance to go down as the best defender of the modern era. SN NBA AWARDS: POY (Victor Wembanyama) | ROY (Kon Knueppel) | COY (Joe Mazzulla) | All-NBA teams Victor Wembanyama's defensive legacy is just starting Along with being the first unanimous selection for the league's DPOY award, Wemby is also the youngest at just 22 years and 98 days old upon the conclusion of the regular season. He would have set an even more impressive record last season had a blood clot not ended his year early and made him ineligible for the award.
Wemby is going to keep on stacking these awards as long as he stays healthy. He's the best rim protector in the league by a mile, ranking No. 1 in blocks in every single season he's played.