Building an all-defensive team is one of the hardest things to do in the NBA. There are only 10 places and two teams. No rookie has ever made the first team. Only five (David Robinson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Manute Bol) have made the second team.
Victor Wembanyama should be sixth.
Wembanyama would have extremely tough competition downtown in a normal year. Rudy Gobert, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis and Jarrett Allen have all had tremendous defensive seasons. But this year the award will have no position and voters can have as many big men as they want on their ballots.
Wemby should probably come in anyway: either he or Gobert have been the best defensive centers in the league. Given the new positionless nature of the award, Wemby should be a lock.
Why Victor Wembanyama should be an all-defensive team lock
Wemby’s defensive stats are among the best in the league
Let’s start with rim protection, where Wembanyama’s 8-foot wingspan makes him the best in the league. His 3.5 blocks per game is number one by a gigantic margin (Walker Kessler is second, with 2.5 per game) and is the highest total since Hassan Whiteside managed 3.7 per game eight years ago.
Blocking isn’t the only area where Wembanyama’s defense shines. He also uses his long reach to steal the ball. He is he First player to average 3.5 blocks and 1.3 steals. since Ben Wallace in 2001-02.
Blocks and steals are the easiest indicators of an impactful defense, but how does Wembanyama rank in advanced stats? Those universally paint him as an elite defender.
| statistics | Worth | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive EPM | +3.4 | 6th |
| Defensive LEBRON | +2.9 | 2nd |
| Defensive ABDUCTOR | +3.4 | 2nd* |
Forget the all-defensive team: Wemby makes a pretty strong case for Defensive Player of the Year. That’s the prize Gobert must lose, but Wemby knows his time is coming.
“I know Rudy has a good chance of winning it this year and he would deserve it.” Wembanyama told BasketNews. “Let him win it now because later it is not his turn.”
Wemby has the intimidation factor.
Statistics are one thing, but does Wembanyama really affect shots? According to some of the league’s best players, the answer is undoubtedly yes.
“He provokes you a lot. He does things like a Defensive Player of the Year would do.” Kyrie Irving said of Wembanyama after being blocked by him in March.
“He has the pace of a guard,” Irving added.
OG Anunoby, who has been an elite finisher at the rim this year, attempted to challenge Wembanyama one-on-one earlier in the season. Everything went as well as could be expected.
Anunoby simply laughed and shook his head when he later asked about the work.
“It’s too high,” Anunoby said. “It is too high”.
In the rare cases where opponents manage to get a shot off without Wemby getting a piece of the ball, he’s still forcing a ton of misses. Opponents shoot 10.4 percent worse at the rim when he defends, ranking in the 94th percentile of players. by NBA elaborated.
Players have been visibly afraid to shoot with Wembanyama down there, playing hot potato with the ball as they approach the basket.
Everyone on the Wizards is terrified of shooting in the paint with Wemby back there. Gafford finally tries and Wemby grabs the ball out of the air with both hands. pic.twitter.com/Pfp4YGlvoS
—Steph Noh (@StephNoh) January 30, 2024
The memo is out: don’t challenge him at the rim.
Wemby should not be punished for Spurs’ defensive problems
There is no statistical argument to leave Wembanyama out of the team, other than the Spurs team’s abysmal defense. They are classified 23 at that end of the floor.
Context is important here. Wemby was drafted for the worst defense in NBA history. He made his talent even worse by trading his best defender, big man Jakob Poeltl, at last year’s deadline.
Wemby took that situation and did everything any other player could do. when he is on the court, the Spurs defense looks like a top 12 defense. When he’s gone, they’re worse than the worst defense in league history.
It’s not Wemby’s fault that he was only allowed to play 29 minutes per game, or that he had to cover atrocious defenders like Doug McDermott and Keldon Johnson. The Spurs would easily be the worst defense in the league again without him.
Wemby has easily been a top 10 defender based on stats and film. He should be recognized as such by the end of the year.
