Victor Wembanyama has managed to exceed the already massive expectations set for him in his first year in the NBA. While the San Antonio Spurs have had a forgettable campaign, currently sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference with an 18-57 record, Wemby’s performance has been nothing short of historic. Averaging a staggering 21.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, per NBA.com, he’s the frontrunner to win the 2024 Rookie of the Year award. However, Gilbert Arenas believes that the French phenom also deserves to win the Defensive Player of the Year award this year.
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In the history of the league, no player has ever won the Rookie of the Year award as well as the Defensive Player of the Year trophy in the same campaign. On the latest episode of Gil’s Arena, Gilbert Arenas seemed almost certain that Wembanyama could go on to make history and become the first player ever to achieve this feat.
Considering that Wembanyama is virtually a lock for the ROTY honor, Agent Zero didn’t deep-dive into the topic. However, he did explain why the 20-year-old deserved to win the defensive accolade. According to the former Washington Wizards star, Wemby has had an incredible impact defensively on the Spurs. Arenas pointed out that the San Antonio Spurs were ranked #1 in the league for defense with the European sensation on the floor. On the other hand, with the 7ft 4” center sidelined, the Texas side has been dead last in the league defensively.
“He [Wemby] should have that (Rookie of the Year) and Defensive Player of the Year. Because they’re [San Antonio Spurs] ranked #1 when he’s on the court and they’re ranked last when he’s off the court. Which tells you how great he is defensively…Which means him by himself is dictating the defense,” Arenas said.
To further make his case, Arenas compared Wembanyama’s influence on the defense end to that of Rudy Gobert – the frontrunner to win the 2024 DPOY.
“Rudy, if he’s not on the court, they’re not dropping all the way to last because they have other defensive players. So you can’t reward a guy who doesn’t have that type of impact. Rudy on the court or off the court doesn’t impact the game defensively. You can see one is impacting the game,” Arenas explained.
Averaging a league-best 3.4 blocks per game and being tied with Nikola Jokic as the only center with 1.3 steals per game, per NBA.com, Wembanyama certainly has a legit case for the prestigious award.
Victor Wembanyama achieved a defensive feat that no rookie has accomplished since Shaquille O’Neal in 1993
Throughout his rookie season, Victor Wembanyama has achieved several feats. However, one of the more impressive records that he accomplished came merely a week ago. Victor became the first rookie since Shaquille O’Neal (1993) to record 300 steals & blocks in a single campaign.
During the 1992-1993 season, Shaq recorded a total of 346 ‘stocks’ – 286 blocks and 60 steals – per Basketball Reference. Wemby has already recorded 311 ‘stocks’ – 226 blocks and 85 steals.
Considering that the Spurs prodigy averages 4.7 stocks per game, with merely seven games remaining for the conclusion of the season, he would be most likely to finish the year with almost 38 more steals and blocks. If Wembanyama manages to lodge even 36 more steals and blocks, he will surpass Shaq.
Breaking Shaq’s record will be a cherry on top as Wembanyama is expected to edge past Chet Holmgren to win the 2024 Rookie of the Year honor.
