Bleacher Report just massively underestimated Victor Wembanyama’s defensive impact

Bleacher Report just ranked Victor Wembanyama 36th on their 99 best defenders of all time list. That’s too low. Full stop.

Yes, the Spurs’ superstar has only played three years, and longevity is important. But Wemby transcends usual standards. He’s a once-in-a-generation defender, if not a once-in-history one.

Here’s the argument for San Antonio’s world-bending big man being one of the 25 (or higher) best defenders ever already:

Victor Wembanyama’s (seriously impressive) defensive accomplishments undersell his greatness

Wembanyama already has quite the impressive defensive resume. He’s earned one Defensive Player of the Year trophy and two All-Defensive first team nods while leading the league in blocks in all three seasons of his career. 

But, compared to a lot of the guys BR placed ahead of him, Wemby’s accomplishments are somewhat paltry. Most of his peers have DPOYs of their own while also boasting seven, eight, even 10 All-Defensive appearances, as well as NBA championships, if that matters to you here.

It’s understandable why voters on this list would choose to respect decorated stoppers such as Jrue Holiday, Sidney Moncrief, and Mark Eaton, but should longevity really be valued more than impact? We’ll get to that in a second, but sticking to the awards conversation for now, there are still nits to be picked.

This isn’t a math equation. All awards don’t hold the same weight. Wemby won history’s only unanimous DPOY while being the youngest to ever take home the hardware, and he’s also the youngest All-Defensive honoree ever. The gravity of that has to mean something, especially when some players ranked above him (Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul) don’t even have a DPOY at all.

But, honestly, all of these other players are lucky awards; they were considered here because, pound for pound, very few of them could hold a candle to Wemby as an individual defender in a vacuum.

Wemby is already one of the best rim protectors of all time

We’ve never seen a rim protector like Wembanyama. Analysts, fans, and everyone in between say that all the time, so why doesn’t his ranking reflect it?

Plenty of big men, including Marcus Camby, Nate Thurmond, Mark Eaton, and Alonzo Mourning, who were all slotted ahead of Wemby, have shut down the paint at an elite level, but none of them have affected the entire course of games, or even entire playoff series, in the same way as The Alien.

If you really think about it, Wemby is the best shot blocker of all time. He’s tied with Eaton for the highest career blocks per game average. He also eats up more space and takes away more looks than most guys were physically capable of due to his 7’4” frame, which puts him at an advantage. He’s an unparalleled rim protector in terms of capability, and the results are quickly pouring in.

With rim protection being inherently more valuable in basketball than perimeter defense, placing the likes of Iguodala, Paul, Kidd, Tony Allen, Michael Cooper, and others ahead of Wemby is tough to justify.

As for his peers in the paint, let's just say this:

Everyone ranked ahead of Victor Wembanyama right now, even Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Ben Wallace at the top of the list, better relish the feeling of their placement while they have it. Soon, Wemby is going to steal the throne as the best defender ever. It’s only a matter of time.

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