WASHINGTON — Victor Wembanyama became the first player to unanimously win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, receiving all 100 first-place votes, the league said.
The San Antonio Spurs center led the NBA in blocks for a third straight season and is the youngest recipient at 22, AFP reported.
The NBA Defensive Player of the Year award has been around since 1983, and in that time, no player has ever received 100 per cent of the first-place votes for the award.
Victor Wembanyama is now the first. The San Antonio Spurs superstar center received 100 first-place votes out of a possible 100 to unanimously win the prestigious award, the NBA announced.
Wembanyama, a frontrunner for Most Valuable Player, led the league in blocks (3.1 per game) for the third straight season in becoming the youngest player to ever earn the award (22 years, 98 days).
The two-time All-Star also averaged career highs in points (25.0) and rebounds (11.5) while chipping in a steal per game for a Spurs team that compiled the second-best record in the league (62-20) and also ranked No. 3 in the league in defensive rating.
Wembanyama secured 500 points in the voting and joined fellow Spur legend David Robinson in becoming the only two players since 1991-92 to win the award within their first three seasons, Reuters reported.
That continues a remarkable tradition: a league-high four different Spurs players have now won the award a combined five times: Alvin Robertson (1986), Robinson, Kawhi Leonard (2015, 2016) and Wembanyama.
