Playing through pain and uncertainty, while the fear of what happened last season loomed, has finally put one San Antonio Spurs superstar in the stratosphere. Victor Wembanyama is the fourth franchise star to claim the Defensive Player of the Year award, making him the first player in the award’s 43-year history to win the honor by unanimous vote. It was a campaign two years in the making that finally ended in a well-deserved win. And it means all the sweeter for the French phenom.

At just 22 years old, Wembanyama swept all 100 first-place votes, a feat that eluded legends like Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Dwight Howard, and Rudy Gobert. While the world marveled at his league-leading 3.1 blocks per game and a defensive gravity that forced opponents to simply abandon the paint, Wembanyama revealed that his biggest triumph wasn’t the trophy itself, it was the grueling fight just to be eligible for it.

“The real struggle,,, the real struggle might have been getting to 65 games,” Wembanyama told the NBC crew with his mom next to him to celebrate the moment. “I’m super, super happy to win this award and actually super proud to be the first ever unanimous.”

The unanimous distinction is a staggering testament to his dominance. Chet Holmgren finished a distant second with 76 second-place votes, as voters across the board agreed that the Spurs center had fundamentally altered the league’s defensive geometry from the moment he stepped up as the first draft pick of 2023.

Victor Wembanyama’s struggles were visible to everyone

The “struggle” Wembanyama referenced was not an exaggeration. For much of April, it appeared the Spurs’ center might fall victim to the NBA’s 65-game minimum rule, the same policy that disqualified him from the race last year.

He had done enough to convince voters in the 2024-25 season in just 46 games. But that campaign was cut short by an unexpected life-threatening blood clot issue. Wemby wasn’t deterred, trained at a Shaolin temple in China, trained under former DPOY Hakeem Olajuwon, and came back to the Spurs renewed.

But it was still difficult to meet the requirements of the player participation mandate. Throughout that, he took multiple subtle jabs at the NBA’s 65-game policy. He missed several games in November due to a calf strain which left a very small margin for ‘load management’ which the Spurs have perfected to an art form. But even the Spurs, who prioritized player longevity over awards were toeing a fine line to aid Wemby at making history.

Wembanyama entered the final week of the season sitting at 63 games, needing to play in two of the final three contests to secure his hardware. Disaster nearly struck during an April 6 matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers. Wembanyama suffered a significant bruised left rib and shoulder injury after colliding with Paul George. He was seen clutching his left side in visible agony and and made multiple trips to the locker room.

Despite the risk to his long-term health, the competitive fire  and the looming 65-game threshold forced a difficult decision. Wembanyama missed the following game against Portland but was forced to return for the regular-season finale against the Dallas Mavericks on April 12. After several near misses, he secured his eligibility for the DPOY and MVP race with 65 games.

Wemby told Vince Carter and the NBC crew that seeing Hakeem Olajuwon’s plaques as the all-time leader in blocked shots was a personal motivation. Olajuwon told his mentee he’d beat him soon if he took it, “one step at a time.” It reflects a long term goal to stay healthy despite the odds stacked against him. For now, that first step involved a historic unanimous vote and a battle against his own body that proved he is as durable as he is dominant.