Victor Wembanyama was named to the All-Defensive First Team, becoming the first rookie in NBA history to make the All-Defensive First Team. He’s also the youngest member of the All-Defensive Team ever, capping off arguably the greatest defensive performance over a season for a rookie in league history.
Wembanyama is the first rookie to make the All-Defense First Team, but five rookies before him had made the All-Defensive Second Team. These players include legends such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1969-70), Hakeem Olajuwon (1984-85), and Manute Bol (1985-86). Wembanyama has kept the Rookie All-Defense streak for Spurs No. 1 picks alive, as David Robinson (1989-90) and Tim Duncan (1997-98) had also earned this accomplishment.
Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals, and 3.6 blocks per game, leading the league in blocks and becoming a one-man defensive system. He likely could have won the DPOY if his Spurs had even earned 35-40 wins on the season, his defense was so generational to watch.
Rudy Gobert tied legends such as Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace by winning his fourth Defensive Player of the Year Trophy this season, the most in NBA history. Wembanyama finished as runner-up to Gobert as a rookie and could surpass the all-time DPOY win record within his first 10 seasons in the NBA.
The 2023-24 All-Defensive Teams Are Interesting
The league announced the 10 players whose defensive contributions went above and beyond their contemporaries this season by making the All-Defensive Team. This was the first iteration of the All-Defensive Teams under the new positionless rules the league implemented, which was clearly seen by the lopsided presence of centers and forwards on one team and guards on the other.
The 2023-24 All-Defensive Teams are:
First Team: Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves), Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs), Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers), Herb Jones (New Orleans Pelicans)
Second Team: Alex Caruso (Chicago Bulls), Derrick White (Boston Celtics), Jrue Holiday (Boston Celtics), Jaden McDaniels (Minnesota Timberwolves), Jalen Suggs (Orlando Magic)
The first team is loaded with five frontcourt players. Under the old rules, the NBA would need to put two guards in the First Team and two more in the Second Team, surrounded by two forwards and one center. Four guards did make it to the All-Defensive team this season, but all four appear on the Second Team.
The First Team has four centers, a bizarre sight for anyone who’s used to the old format of teams being announced.
Victor Wembanyama Says Rudy Gobert’s Time To Win DPOY’s Is Up
As the Defensive Player of the Year race heated up between countrymen Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama, Wembanyama gave an honest assessment of Gobert while sending a warning about the future of the award.
“I know that Rudy (Gobert) has a very good chance of winning it this year, and it would be deserved. Let him win it now because after that it’s no longer his turn.”
Gobert was among Wembanyama’s mentors when he was emerging through French basketball as a prodigious talent. His defensive instincts might not have been built without Gobert’s advice, so it’s funny how life has come full circle for Gobert who might have won his last DPOY because of the player he mentored before entering the NBA.
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