Wembanyama's peers reveal terrifying reality Spurs have yet to tap into

Award voters weren't the only people who were enamored by Victor Wembanyama's defensive impact this year. He's also receiving high praise and recognition from his peers. 151 players got polled by The Athletic on who the league's best defensive player is. Wemby led that category, receiving 41% of the vote.

This is something to feel proud of if you're Victor because, let's be honest, DPOY winners aren't always the ones to receive this level of praise from their fellow players. Rudy Gobert won four in his career but constantly found himself being labeled as "overrated" on that side of the floor.

Now, I don't agree with that sentiment, but it does go to show the level of respect Wemby's garnering as a defensive force this early in his career. There's no debate that the hype is real for him, and the scary part is this: he isn't even close to reaching his prime yet.

Wemby possesses a unique defensive skillset

It's easy to look at and get lost in the numbers when talking about Victor's defensive impact, and rightfully so. He led the NBA in blocks for each of his first three seasons and is averaging five through the playoffs so far. But what's most impressive is how he's defending and stuffing the stat sheet with rejections.

"He just has the ability to cover up so many mistakes, including ones that he'll make," one of the voters stated. "Just his ability to erase mistakes is extremely impressive, where guys drive in the paint and see him and turn around and dribble out. Like, no one does that in the NBA."

A better point could not have been made. Wemby's unique size and mobility allow him to expunge so many slip-ups on the defensive end. If he's guarding in space and gets beaten off the dribble by a fast guard, he can recover quickly and swallow a shot attempt from behind.

This goes for his teammates as well. If they give up drives to the rim, Victor's elite help defense can lead to blocks or just flat-out turn opponents away from shooting over him in the first place. Terrence Shannon learned that lesson in Game 2.

Wemby's elite defense is translating to the postseason

Unlike other big men that we've seen over the years, Victor's dominance was not a regular-season phenomenon that got exposed in the playoffs. The total opposite is happening: he's having one of the greatest defensive playoff starts we've ever seen.

In the first two matchups of the Spurs' second-round clash against the Timberwolves, he has 14 total blocks, with 12 of those coming in Game 1. In Game 2, Minnesota seemingly gave up on trying to shoot over him, scoring just 36 paint points.

This is just the beginning for him. The Spurs still have a long way to go in this year's postseason, and Wemby has even more to prove as a defender. But for this to just be the first phase of his dominion over the NBA is quite impressive.

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