Wembanyama just claimed the NBA honor nobody could deny him

Victor Wembanyama may have been robbed of the Defensive Player of the Year award two years in a row (yeah, I said it), but the fans acknowledge his extraterrestrial-like ability. Watching Vic play defense is observing some sort of elevated plane, and after the NBA ran a poll for the best Defensive Play of the Year, it's clear that everyone feels the same way.

The only thing making this win better than its existence is the fact that it was against the Spurs' little brother, the Houston Rockets. Jalen Green, who's no longer a part of the franchise, isn't known for much, but he's a hell of an athlete who can jump out of the gym. He's put more than his fair share of would-be shot blockers on posters, but Wembanyama was having none of it.

It's nothing to be ashamed of. Wemby blocked 176 shots in 46 games. Despite the extra games afforded to them, nobody could catch up by the end of the regular season. Myles Turner didn't catch him until the Eastern Conference Finals. Vic's defensive impact is unreal, and with domination surely on his mind for the upcoming year, he'll finally bring home that DPOY trophy that's eluded him thus far.

Wembanyama will win Defensive Player of the Year in a landslide next year

When Vic lost what should have rightfully been his to Rudy Gobert after his rookie year, it was for all of the wrong reasons. DPOY is a solo award, but they treat it like a team accomplishment. The 7'4" phenom was penalized because the team around him wasn't great, and quite frankly, because he was a rookie.

You often heard media members discuss the fact that a first-year player had never won the award, like it were some sort of accepted hazing ritual. Gobert benefited from the talent around him. It would have been nice if Wemby had Anthony Edwards, Nickeil Walker-Alexander, Jaden McDaniels, and Naz Reid on his team to back him up on defense, but he did not.

The Spurs would go from a top-10 defense to a bottom-5 defense depending on whether the Alien was on the floor or not. That's true impact, and he should have easily won the award. He outpaced the Stifle Tower in blocks by a wide margin, and that doesn't account for the times players just said "nope" and declined to try him at all.

We all know what happened last year. The DVT diagnosis messed up everything, cutting his season short, where he would have needed to play 65 games to qualify. It's not his fault that players were resting so often that the NBA felt it necessary to put that rule in, but it cost him anyway. If health abides, Wembanyama will come for it all, and we get to watch it happen. How exciting.