Wemby's Unanimous Defense Award Fuels WCF Title Push

Victor Wembanyama earned a unanimous All-Defensive First Team selection for the 2025-26 NBA season on Friday. All 100 media voters placed Wembanyama on the first team. Wembanyama, age 22, is the only unanimous pick in the 2025-26 cycle. Wembanyama claimed All-Defensive First Team honors in back-to-back seasons, earning the award in Year 2 and Year 3 of his career. The announcement arrived as the San Antonio Spurs prepare for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

Why Wembanyama’s Defensive Record Has No Modern Parallel

Wembanyama led the NBA in blocks per game for the third consecutive season, averaging 3.1 blocks in 2025-26. The 3.1 average is the highest in the league and marks Wembanyama’s third straight year atop the blocks list. Holmgren (Oklahoma City), Thompson (Detroit), Gobert (Minnesota), and White (Boston) joined Wembanyama on the All-Defensive First Team. Wembanyama also won the 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year award unanimously, earning unanimous status on both individual defensive honors in the same season.

Wembanyama at age 22 claimed back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards. No center in NBA history won consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards before turning 23. Wembanyama’s 3.1 blocks per game in 2025-26 represent the third consecutive season Wembanyama led the league in that category. Previous multi-season blocks leaders include Dikembe Mutombo and Dwight Howard, both of whom established those streaks in their mid-20s. Wembanyama achieved comparable milestones three years earlier than either Hall of Famer. The unanimous vote total of 100 ballots means no voter left Wembanyama off the first team.

The defensive honors arrived with the Spurs trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder 2-1 in the Western Conference finals. In Game 3 on May 22, Wembanyama scored 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting across 39 minutes. Wembanyama added 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks in that game. Oklahoma City won Game 3, 123-108. OKC’s bench outscored San Antonio’s bench 76 to 23, the decisive margin even as Wembanyama performed individually.

An Oklahoma City win in Game 4 would give the Thunder a commanding 3-1 series lead. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also scored 26 points in Game 3, matching Wembanyama in the scoring column. Oklahoma City guard Ajay Mitchell is ruled out for Game 4 with a right calf strain. Mitchell’s absence shifts rotation weight toward Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as Oklahoma City’s primary creator. A Spurs win Sunday would even the series at 2-2 and restore home-court balance to San Antonio.

Game 4 tips off Sunday, May 24, at AT&T Center in San Antonio. Wembanyama scored 41 points in the Spurs’ 2OT Game 1 victory and 26 in Game 3, both Spurs wins. The Spurs entered the WCF as postseason underdogs, the first time in two years Oklahoma City faced a favored opponent. The WCF winner advances to the 2026 NBA Finals against either the New York Knicks or the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wembanyama’s case for future MVP status gains a new data point with each deep playoff performance.