San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama has been named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the 2025–2026 season, capping a dominant campaign that also sees him shortlisted for the Most Valuable Player award.
The 22-year-old French international was central to the Spurs’ rise to the second seed in the regular season, where they finished with a 62–20 record. Across 64 games, Wembanyama averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks in 29.2 minutes per game.
He carried that form into the playoffs, where he made an immediate statement in his postseason debut, posting 35 points and five rebounds in 33 minutes to lead San Antonio to a 111–98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game One of their series. Game Two is scheduled for Wednesday, April 22.
Speaking after being named a unanimous winner of the award, Wembanyama reflected on the recognition in an interview with NBC Sports,
“The real struggle might have been getting to 65 games,” Wembanyama said — referring to the number needed for award eligibility — But I’m super, super happy to win this award and actually super proud to be the first-ever unanimous.”
Wembanyama is the first San Antonio Spurs player to win the award since Kawhi Leonard won it twice in a row in 2015 and 2016.
