Spurs rookie voted best defender in the NBA by his peers

Some of the 132 unnamed players who voted for Wemby explained their reasoning.

"He's changing the game," an opponent said. "Players — you can't say 'scared' — but he's changing their shots. He deserves it."

"He really, like, affects everything in the paint," another player said. "He has dudes not even trying to go to the rim. He damn near leads the league in blocks right now, and this is his first year. He’s doing it in limited time too."

Wembanyama also topped the list of desired franchise cornerstones, edging out reigning NBA Champion Nikola Jokic. 

While the 7-foot-4 phenom is unlikely to be voted Defensive Player of the Year by the media, many current and former players have been lobbying for him to win the award over Rudy Gobert. The 20-year-old is still expected to win Rookie of the Year for averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.6 blocks in his first year as a Spur.