Wembanyama wins NBA award with 100% of votes
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama has been named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
The 7ft 4in France International is the first unanimous winner in the award’s 43-year history having secured all 100 first place votes.
Announcement
At 22, he is the youngest player to win the award and the second to win it in his first three seasons, after Spurs legend David Robinson (1991-92).
Wembanyama was the first overall draft pick in 2023 and led the league in blocks (3.1 per game) for the third straight season.
The two-time All-Star also averaged career highs in points (25.0) and rebounds (11.5), and had one steal per game.
“I’m super, super happy to win this award and really super proud to be the first one to get unanimous [winner]”he told NBC.
Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder finished second with 239 points (76 second-place votes), while Ausar Thompson of the Detroit Pistons finished third with 60 points (nine second-place votes).
Announcement
Wembanyama, who is also a Most Valuable Player contender, helped San Antonio to its second-best regular season record (62-20) and its defense ranked third overall.
German NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki told AFP: “I’ve never seen anything like this.
“His defense is so good that he changes the game just by stepping in and taking away some of the layups and twos that other teams would normally do.”
The Cavs take the lead against the Raptors
Wembanyama made his play-off debut on Sunday and the first round of the postseason continued on Monday, with the Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the Toronto Raptors.
Announcement
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points for Cleveland while James Harden added 28 as the Cavs earned a 115-105 home victory and took a 2-0 lead in the seven-game series.
“I’m one of the greatest (in the backfield),” teammate Evan Mobley said. “It’s hard to stop them because of their offensive ability. They can take any shot.”
Added Toronto shooting guard RJ Barrett: “They’re a problem and we’ve got to figure out how to fix it.”
Anthony Edwards had 30 points and 10 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from 19 points down to win 119-114 at the Denver Nuggets and tie their series at 1-1.
Announcement
The Atlanta Hawks also pulled off a comeback win on the road, beating the New York Knicks 107-106 to move to 1-1, with CJ McCollum scoring 32 points.