Wembanyama Defensive Player of the Year odds have already made a dramatic shift

Many believe that San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year after coming in second place last season. He entered the season as the runaway pick. Despite that, his rival Chet Holmgren, just weeks into the season, is right on his heels and looks to be the dark horse favorite to win the award over the 7'4" Frenchman.

One reason is that the Thunder could be one of the best teams in the NBA this season, and Holmgren will no doubt get credit for their success, particularly on the defensive end. They currently rank first in defensive rating, with Holmgren ranking 3rd in blocks per game with 2.9. 

Meanwhile, the Spurs have gotten off to a better-than-expected but still mediocre start to the season, and Wembanyama has also gotten off to a slow start. Fortunately, he has picked up in recent games, especially on the defensive end, blocking seven shots against the Utah Jazz and nine against the LA Clippers. 

He currently leads the league with 3.8 blocks per game, and the Spurs currently rank 10th in defensive rating. Both of those factors should dramatically improve his chances of winning the award. Although he also led the league in blocks per game, the Spurs ranked just 22nd in defensive rating last season.

Can Victor Wembanyama still win Defensive Player of the Year?

Wembanyama, assuming that he stays healthy, should have the counting stats to again lead the league in blocks, but the advanced stats also appear to be on his side. While he came in second to Rudy Gobert last season despite having strong metrics, the Wolves ranked first in defensive rating and had a terrific record. 

The Spurs are unlikely to have either, while the Thunder have a chance to do both. Even so, Wembanyama tends to make headlines with his eye-popping stat totals and trend on X (formerly known as Twitter) when he has big games that will draw more attention to his candidacy. That should help him in the long run, especially if the Spurs' defensive improvement holds. 

It is also worth noting that oddsmakers don't necessarily have any inside knowledge of how NBA award voters might vote. After coming in second last season and Gobert aging, Wembanyama should be the favorite to win the award. 

With big defensive numbers like swatting nine or even seven shots in a game and great defensive metrics, he should be the favorite to become the first Spurs player since Kawhi Leonard to win Defensive Player of the Year. A lot can happen over the course of a long regular season, but if Wembanyama continues to play like he has on defense, then he should collect some hardware come April.