Wemby becomes the seventh player in Spurs history to collect multiple NBA All-Defensive selections. Stephon Castle just missed the cut.
SAN ANTONIO — In an expected encore award to his first NBA Defensive Player of the Year accolade, Victor Wembanyama was named to the All-Defensive First Team along with Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, Detroit’s Ausar Thompson, Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert and Boston’s Derrick White.
But only Wemby’s selection was unanimous, mirroring the way he won Defensive Player of the Year honors last month. He was also named to the All-Defensive First Team his rookie season, but missed the cut last year when blood clots cut his 2023-25 campaign short.
The selections were announced before Game 3 on Friday night. Stephon Castle and Houston’s Amen Thompson both just missed the cut, each receiving the most points (46) of NBA players who didn’t make either the All-Defensive First or Second Teams.
Wembanyama led the league with 3.1 blocks per game – no one else had more than 1.9 – and total blocks, with 197.
But that’s just where the story of his defensive prowess begins. The 22-year-old Frenchman was also tops int he NBA in opponent field goal percentage (40.7%) and contested shots per game (9.3). According to the Spurs, he also became the only NBA player to record at least 1,500 points, 700 rebounds, 150 blocks and 50 steals in a season—painting the picture of his all-around dominance.
Wembanyama anchored a Silver & Black defensive that finished second in defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions), limited opponents to a 45.1% field goal percentage (fourth in the NBA) and allowed 111.5 points per game (eight in the NBA).
With his selection, Wembanyama became the seventh Spurs player to be named to an NBA All-Defensive First or Second Team. The others: Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen, David Robinson, Dennis Rodman and Alvin Robertson.