Assuming he stays healthy, there is little doubt that San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama will have a full trophy case or two when he ends his supremely promising NBA career. He is already on his way after unanimously winning Rookie of the Year on Monday. The 20-year-old will have to wait at least one more season, though, before being formally acknowledged for his elite defense.
And some Spurs fans are not happy about that. Fresh off welcoming his first child into the world, Rudy Gobert is bringing home Defensive Player of the Year honors for the fourth time. He receives 72 first-place votes to Wembanyama’s 19, beating his countryman by nearly 200 points. Despite the French phenom having his share of supporters, this was the expected outcome.
The result is being met with a decent amount of opposition, due to the eye-popping numbers the 2023 No. 1 overall pick posted in his inaugural NBA campaign. His league-best 3.6 blocks per contest made him a particular standout and illustrated his low-post dominance. Fellow rookie Chet Holmgren ranked second in total blocks with 64 less than the 254 that Wembanyama amassed in 71 games.
Many people understand that statistics are not the only factor in determining the recipient of this award and feel Gobert deserves the crown after helping the Minnesota Timberwolves become the top defense in the NBA. The Spurs, on the other hand, finished in the bottom third in many defensive categories and had a dismal 22-60 record.
There are plenty of people who do not wish to simplify the voting to that standard, however, and they are making their displeasure known.
People voice their support of Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama
Some opted to share mind-boggling statistical feats instead of explicitly advocating for San Antonio’s franchise pillar to win the award.
“Rudy Gobert is expected to win Defensive Player of the Year tonight over Victor Wembanyama, who won Rookie of the Year last night…But it’s worth pointing out that Wemby nearly had more blocks than any other player had blocks + steals combined,” Lev Akabas of SportsBiz and Sportico posted on X. “Who’s your vote for DPOY?”
Others took a vehemently pro-Wemby stance. “Victor Wembanyama was robbed of an all-star selection and robbed of DPOY,” SDQL Guru posted on X. “There is no way you voters watched the NBA on a daily basis if you ain’t vote Victor Wembanyama DPOY,” Mr. Ingram wrote. “Take the stats away. USE the Eye test!!! I forgot y’all only watch 5 teams, my {bad}.”
Spurs fans are obviously proud of their guy, but it is unrealistic to expect voters to bestow a top honor on a player who represents one of the worst teams in the league. Fair or not, the squad’s collective failures, which would have obviously been more apparent without Wembanyama, outweighed his stellar individual contributions.
Fear not, though, he will have many chances to snag the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy in the years to come. This debate will seem especially trivial if Wembanyama ends up surpassing Gobert’s number of DPOY wins by the end of his career.
