SAN ANTONIO — No one who paid attention to the NBA this season batted an eye when Victor Wembanyama won NBA Rookie of the Year. No one was surprised when he was named to the first team All-Rookie squad this week.
But Tuesday's announcement that the 7-foot-4 San Antonio Spurs phenom made the NBA All-Defensive first team was enough to mark some new history for the Frenchman, and well as indicate what the NBA world thinks about the potential of the center who just turned 20 in January.
Wembanyama became the first rookie in NBA history to win first team All-Defensive honors, as well as the youngest in league history. The last NBA rookie named to an All-Defensive team was Spurs great Tim Duncan, when he made the second team after the 1997-98 season.
Joining Wembanyama on the All-Defensive first team are Miami's Bam Adebayo, Los Angeles' Anthony Davis, Minnesota's Rudy Gobert and New Orleans' Herb Jones.
Wemby's defensive numbers jumped off the page and made some history in their own right this year. In 29.7 minutes played per game, he averaged 10.6 rebounds and a league-leading 3.58 blocks to go along with 1.24 steals.
According to the Spurs, he’s the first rookie to lead the NBA in blocked shots since Bol and the first rookie to average 3 or more blocks since Shawn Bradley in 1993-94.
Wembanyama, the team's defensive anchor moving forward, finished second to Rudy Gobert in the 2023-24 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award race.
His ability to cover the paint with his over 7-foot wingspan, defend the rim and be a threat on the defensive end all but makes him one of the league's elite defenders.
It's been an incredible start to Wemby's NBA career with the Rookie of the Year Award, three Rookie of the Month Awards, a Defensive Player of the Year runner-up, a slot on the the All-NBA Rookie first team and countless on-court records shattered last season.