Unjust NBA decision proves they're already tired of Wembanyama's greatness

Voter fatigue in the NBA is nothing new. Typically this annoying phenomenon rears its ugly head during award season as it did when Karl Malone won the MVP trophy over Michael Jordan in 1997. But it's starting to show its face again today.

At some point, people get tired of giving certain players awards over and over again. It doesn't matter if another player is better or more deserving, they offer something different. That break from the norm can be attractive enough to sway us from what is obviously true.

In just his second season, Victor Wembanyama has already become a victim of voter fatigue. It's not an official stat that anyone tracks, but he has to be the youngest player ever to get slighted because of how good he is.

The NBA is already overlooking Victor Wembanyama's defensive impact

The league made some waves online Thursday afternoon when the winners for Defensive Player of the Month were announced. Many fans were rightly outraged to see that Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies was chosen to be the Western Conference representative over Wembanyama.

I've tried to look at this from every angle possible and the only possible explanation is that this is just advanced level engagement farming by the NBA. There is no other explanation for giving this award to JJJ over Wemby.

This isn't a slight at Jackson Jr. by any means. He's a former Defensive Player of the Year for a reason and he did have an exceptional December. But he wasn't as good as Vic.

The San Antonio Spurs had a better defensive rating when Wembanyama was on the floor than the Grizzlies did when Jackson Jr. played. Wembanyama recorded more combined steals and blocks than Jackson Jr. did. Harder to quantify but no less important is the general air of dissuasion that Victor exudes on the defensive end of the floor.

Opposing players connected on 48.4 percent of their field goal attempts when Vic was on the court compared to 49.6 percent when Jackson Jr. played. It's a small but not insignificant shift that is a testament to how wide of a shadow Victor casts when he plays.

Keep in mind that Wembanyama is doing all of this while carrying a heavier offensive burden than Jackson Jr. has ever been asked to bear. His usage rate is higher, he plays more minutes, he takes more shots, and he still finds the energy to be better on defense.

Ultimately, this isn't worth getting upset over, and on some level, I understand the NBA's dilemma. If they gave Defensive Player of the Month to the most deserving player every month, Vic would win like clockwork until he retired. And that doesn't drive engagement online. I only hope that the NBA doesn't make this same mistake at the end of the year when it matters most.