Bleacher Report's fiery Victor Wembanyama hot take hilariously misses the mark

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama had a wildly successful 2025-26 season, but that could be only the beginning. In just his third season, he posted the highest defensive regularized adjusted plus-minus (D-RAPM) in NBA history en route to winning Defensive Player of the Year.

Despite that, Bleacher Report just ranked him as only the 36th greatest defensive player in NBA history. No, really, 36th all-time. Look, I understand that there are many all-time great defensive players. That being said, Wembanyama has already begun to separate himself from the pack.

With Wembanyama having an historic three-year stretch to start his career, he should have been ranked far higher. Particularly with him still improving as a defensive player, which is a scary thought.

Bleacher Report just disrespected Victor Wembanyama's greatness

It might be too hyperbolic to call him the defensive GOAT, but he is rapidly climbing up the list of all-time greats. I would argue he is already the third best defensive player in team history—which is really saying something—behind only Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

Longevity will dictate whether he will eventually surpass Hakeem Olajuwon as the NBA's all-time leading shot blocker. While that is still up in the air, what isn't is that pretty much every defensive metric paints a clear picture.

Teams actively avoided attacking him in the paint, and Wembanyama averaged more than three blocks per game last season. Part of that is due to him being able to block jump shots, making it practically impossible for opponents to shoot over him or near him.

Victor Wembanyama is an all-time great defensive player

Bleacher Report played it safe by ranking him 36th all-time even though his short body of work is already better than most dominant defensive players' peaks. For instance, Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo is among the best rim protectors in NBA history

Nevertheless, Wembanyama's D-RAPM from last season is nearly two points better than Mutombo's peak year. Also, who's to say that Wembanyama won't get better defensively?

It takes time to learn the nuances of the game defensively, and he's only 22 years old and still learning all of the tricks needed to thrive on that end. Things such as how to wall off the paint while taking away jumpers.

Moreover, jumping less on block attempts makes him less susceptible to giving up offensive rebounds or fouling. They are all things he can improve upon and could make an already all-time great defensive player far better. However, that doesn't change the fact that he is criminally low on Bleacher Report's rankings.

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