Wembanyama set to snatch Chet Holmgren's DPOY pipe dream from his fingertips

Victor Wembanyama is quite possibly the best defender we've ever seen walk on the hardwood. As lofty a claim as that sounds, it's not something that many people argue over. Despite that reality, there are still folks holding out hope that Chet Holmgren will win the Defensive Player of the Year award. Not sorry to say, that won't happen on Wemby's watch.

Holmgren is the anchor of Oklahoma City's awesome defense, but he never truly had a shot to win on merit. His sole hope to walk away with that trophy was for Wemby to miss out on the 65-game threshold. It's been the only path from the start and why the oddsmakers even allowed the Thunder's lanky center to step ahead of Vic, if only for a moment.

Those numbers changed long ago, though. Once the common consensus came to the conclusion that the Alien would meet the required number of games played, the DPOY "race" was nothing more than a formality. His overwhelming odds of -4000 compared to Holmgren's +850 on FanDuel are proof of that.

Wembanyama may never allow Holmgren to win DPOY

When Vic suffered the rib bruise, some leaned into the hope that it would be the final nail in the coffin for San Antonio's superstar's end-of-season award track. That may actually be the straw that breaks the 65-game camel's back. Fans and media alike were up in arms about the possibility that so many star players wouldn't be receiving their deserved accolades because of this arbitrary rule.

The noise got as loud as I've heard it as seemingly every media member expressed displeasure with where things could be headed. Turns out that Wembanyama is fine, and he'll get that final game in without much issue. However, that doesn't change the issues that rule has brought, and if the NBA removes it, we can just rename the trophy after Victor.

The Spurs played their cards with Wembanyama perfectly

People forget that the Spurs err on the side of caution because that's their preference, but Wemby is not brittle. He's played through bumps and bruises just like anyone else and has even tried to force his way onto the court when the staff felt holding him back was the best course of action for his long-term health.

He just sat out a meeting with the Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back to rest an ankle that we haven't really seen make much of an impact on his play. When he's in the game, he's doing extraterrestrial-like things without fail. Had that game been in the postseason, he likely would have played.

Wembanyama sat out for 12 straight games from November into December, and at the time, it was also seen as a conservative approach. He could have come back a little earlier if the Spurs needed him to, but it was early in the year and there was no reason to rush with the team performing so well.

We're at the end of the season now, and San Antonio seems to have taken care of both their desires as an organization and Wemby's as a competitor. Their superstar will be ready to go for the postseason. He's going to win Defensive Player of the Year. There was never really a doubt about either.