Draymond Green explains why Victor Wembanyama isn't the Defensive Player of the Year

The San Antonio Spurs landed a true generational talent in Victor Wembanyama. The first-overall pick has taken the NBA by storm and has proven to be as good as advertised.

When he’s on the floor, the Spurs have the sixth-best defensive rating in the league. Notably, it plummets to dead last when he sits. He’s also the league leader in blocks per game.

That’s why he’s spent most of the season at the top or near the top of the Defensive Player of the Year rankings. However, that wouldn’t be fair, according to former winner and Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green.

Rudy Gobert Is The DPOY, Says Draymond Green

In the latest edition of his podcast, Green gave the nod to Rudy Gobert over Wembanyama, which is kind of surprising if you consider they have a bit of a history.

Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.

Even so, Green believes that Wembanyama’s time will come, and he thinks he can win multiple DPOY awards in his career. It just won’t be this season, as the Spurs have the 24th defense in the league:

“He’ll have these numbers and he’ll have opportunities to win Defensive Player of the Years,” Green said of Wembanyama. “I personally don’t think that is this year. Even if Rudy Gobert wasn’t having the year that he’s having and their team wasn’t having the season that they’re having, I still don’t think you can give that award to somebody who’s on the 24th-best defense in the league.”

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That’s a fair assessment. Wembanyama will have plenty of chances to win Defensive Player of the Year, MVP, and, hopefully, even some NBA Championships. For now, he’ll just have to settle for the Rookie of the Year award, and the Spurs will have to do a better job of surrounding him with good players in the future.