We find ourselves talking about Victor Wembanyama again, just two days after the San Antonio Spurs’ victory against the Brooklyn Nets, in which the young Frenchman came close to yet another record of his season, this time becoming the second player in history after David Robinson to record a game of at least 30 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks. After having first caressed and then reached the famous 5×5 and having broke other records throughout the season (the triple double with blocks in less than half an hour; the 150 blocks, 150 assists and 75 triples in a season, becoming the first ever to do so) for Wembanyama the season is towards its conclusion and the time has come to pull the strings of his first year in the NBA, which certainly did not disappoint, as the numbers and more demonstrate.
Victor Wembanyama vs Brooklyn Nets
33 PTS
15 REB
7 AST
7 BLK#PorVida W pic.twitter.com/6hOF3B8CxB— A Walking Highlight (@11AWH) March 18, 2024
The numbers speak
There are some numbers that cannot go unnoticed for the Frenchman, who has already collected many more steals and blocks than the last 9 award winners of defender of the year, which when compared to his name doesn’t seem so out of place, despite the ultra-negative record of his Spurs. With 13 games still to play, Wemby has already reached 290 steals/blocks, 30 more than Draymond Green in 2017, the first of the aforementioned last 9 winners of the award.
Although this is the most surprising statistic, there are other numbers too which support the thesis according to which Wembanyama would be a candidate for the defender of the year award and Kirk Goldsberry, ESPN analyst, took the trouble to collect them: with the French “center” on the pitch, in the last 15 games, the Spurs have a net rating (difference between offensive and defensive performance) of +5.3, thanks to a defensive rating of 106 which would place them first in the entire NBA. Without Wemby, however, the net rating reaches -10.1, by virtue of a defensive rating that reaches 118 points conceded, which would place them in 25th place in the NBA. It therefore turns out that Victor Wembanyama is currently the most influential defender for his team in the entire league.
Wemby is the most impactful defender in the NBA
Spurs Last 15 Games
*Wemby On Court*
Net Rating: +5.3
Off. Rating: 111.4
Def. Rating: 106.0 (Would rank *1st* in NBA)🚨*Wemby Off Court*
Net Rating: -10.1
Off. Rating: 107.9
Def. Rating: 118.0 (Would rank *25th* in NBA)— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) March 19, 2024
The future is bright, very bright
Obviously the season lasts much longer than 15 games and we are all aware of this, however these data demonstrate a clear trend growth in Victor Wembanyama’s seasonwho despite still having to improve in many aspects of his game, both offensive and defensive, has already demonstrated that he has all it takes to become one of the greatest everputting on one of the best rookie seasons in memory.
To think that Wembanyama will be the first freshman ever to winning the defensive player of the year award is difficultespecially for his Spurs’ record of 15 wins and 54 losses, but also the mere fact that could and should be considered in racing it says it all, and the fact that he still has ample room for improvement should be a real alarm for the other teams, because if the good morning starts in the morning, great days will soon arrive in San Antonio.