Jaw-dropping Victor Wembanyama stat proves he's an out-of-this-world defender

With the NBA regular season ending in less than a week, San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is close to securing his first Defensive Player of the Year award.

It's been a long time coming for him after having narrowly lost during his rookie season. He also fell short of qualifying last season after missing San Antonio's last 36 games.

This season, he should narrowly qualify for the award and, assuming that he does, should finally win. Most already consider him to be the best defensive player in the NBA, and one stat proves that.

Insane Victor Wembanyama stat prove he's an elite shot blocker

Since the All-Star break, Wembanyama is averaging an incredible 3.8 blocks per game.

Perhaps equally as incredible is the fact he has figured out how to control where his blocks go.

Managing to block a shot and keeping it in bounds is impressive enough, but more often than not, he either controls the ball or it goes directly to his teammate.

That means Wembanyama is not only rejecting shots, but he's also preventing second-chance opportunities as well as igniting the Spurs' fast break. Teams already have a tough time scoring against the Silver and Black in the half court when Wembanyama is on the floor.

However, other teams are left scrambling when the Spurs push the pace after Wembanyama controls a block instead of corralling a loose ball and kicking it out after his rejection.

Victor Wembanyama is turning defense into offense for Spurs

Many Spurs fans have noticed that after blocking a shot and getting out in transition, Wembanyama is likely to take a three. Since he often swats shots at the rim, he trails behind the fastbreak.

That frees him up for transition threes if the Spurs aren't able to get a quick layup or dunk. It's a potent weapon that makes San Antonio even tougher to stop in transition.

However, Wembanyama is also known to swat jump shots too. In which case he can use his speed to sprint down the floor, beating out his defender and getting an effortless dunk.

It's one thing to be an elite defender, but turning defense into offense is a game changer. It makes Wembanyama even more impactful on both ends of the floor.

With him needing just one more game to qualify for Defensive Player of the Year, he could soon finally get recognition for his incredible defensive skill.