Before he was knocked out for 12 games with a calf injury, San Antonio Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama was the odds-on favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award for the 2025-26 NBA season. He’s leading the league in blocks for a third straight season, and he’s also averaging more rebounds per game than any other player in the league.
Wembanyama’s combination of size and athleticism on the defensive side of the ball is completely unique, and his prowess on that end of the floor deserves to be acknowledged with some hardware.
However, for the second straight season, Wembanyama could miss out on the DPOY award due to the NBA’s recently-instated 65-game threshold, which requires a player to play in at least 65 games in a season to be considered for major awards or All-NBA teams.
A blood clot limited Wembanyama to just 46 games last season, and he’s in danger of missing the mark again this season after his extended stint on the sideline due to the calf injury. Having already missed 12 games this season, Wembanyama can miss just five more games between now and April in order to remain eligible.
If he falls short of the 65-game mark, not only would it cost Wembanyama some handsome hardware, but it would also impact him financially in a major way. In fact, it could cost him $55 million.
Here’s the skinny: Wembanyama will be eligible for an extension over the offseason. As it stands, the extension could be a five-year, $271 million deal. But, if Wembanyama is named Defensive Player of the Year (or MVP), or if he’s selected to one of the three All-NBA squads that extension could balloon up to $326 million. The odds of that happening now have decreased dramatically since the Spurs center has already missed 12 games.
So now, the difference between $326 million and $271 million will be how many more games Wembanyama misses this season. If he misses five or fewer, he should be in position to potentially win DPOY and/or be named to an All-NBA team and land the larger extension. But, if he misses more than five more games, he’ll have to settle for the $271, which is obviously still a staggering amount, but still, no one wants to lose out on $55 million.
Being available will be the name of the game for the rest of the current campaign for Wembanyama, as he now has a major incentive to miss as few games as possible.
