By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Victor Wembanyama made another NBA history after becoming the first rookie to be named to the All-Defensive First Team on May 22, 2024.
Following the league announcement regarding the five best defensive players of the NBA in the ongoing season, the rising star of the San Antonio Spurs added another prestigious feat to his already impressive debut.
The French rookie joined an elite company in the squad and teamed up with Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, New Orleans’ Herb Jones, Miami’s Bam Adebayo, and Lakers’ Anthony Davis for the All-Defensive First Team.
Completing the NBA All-Defensive Second Team are Alex Caruso from Chicago, Jalen Suggs of Orlando, Jaden McDaniels of Minnesota, and Boston’s Jrue Holiday & Derrick White.
Aside from making the All-Defensive First Team, Wembanyama was also hailed as this season’s NBA Rookie of the Year.
The 20-year-old became the sixth player in NBA history to win the Rookie of the Year unanimously after Karl Anthony-Towns, Ralph Samson, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Damian Lillard, and Blake Griffin.
Wembanyama clinched all 99 first-place votes from the media organization panel, surpassing Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren who landed second place.
Holmgren, who went toe-to-toe with Wembanyama during the Rookie of the Year race, garnered 98 second-place votes while Brandon Miller of the Charlotte Hornets bagged the third place with 83 votes.
Despite the Spurs finishing 14th in the Western Conference, the fourth-worst record in the NBA, Wembanyama was still able to put up incredible numbers and immediately made an impact in his first year as a member of the San Antonio franchise.
In 71 games played in his rookie season, Wembanyama tallied an All-Star stat-line of 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.6 blocks, 3.9 assists, and 1.2 steals per contest for the Spurs.
