Victor Wembanyama Named Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month for January
2.2 feels stupidly low for Wemby because opposing players have stopped trying as hard to contest against him.
he also had to stop jumping for everything beacuse teams are abusing back door cuts on the rest of the spurs players when he jumps at ball handler.
No reason for him to be falling for pumps anyways. I know he wants to get blocks but you’re the tallest dude in the league lol
Lol fr. Anything that isn’t a guarantee keep your feet planted, arms up, and he’ll still affect 100% of the shots going up.
Was hilarious watching the Hornets Spurs game - Diabate would just opt to walk away from the basket and reset the offense through a guard, instead of going up strong, knowing that Wemby would just swat it away.
Yea I think it was an okc game where his streak got broken? Can’t block if they’re too scared to shoot lmfao
It’s kind of like how a truly great defensive back won’t get that many interceptions because QBs learn to stop throwing their way. Case in point, Pat Surtain had only one pick this whole season despite being on the number one defense and number one pass rush by a mile.
DPOY
If he can stay healthy he can have it on lock for years. No one’s coming close
slaps roof of car
“You can fit so many awards in this bad boy.”
Didn’t even know they did a conference defensive player of the month award
Scottie won one I believe
Scottie won 1 earlier this season lol
And I’d consider this a down month for him, defensively. He’s that good
Moussa Diabate smoked him too you love to see it
Can’t believe Diabate didn’t make the All-Star roster
[deleted]
It’s not over until it’s over
says who
Says guacamoleandtomato bro
they do have MD in their username so maybe they know something
Hes had one injury and a blood clot lol
that blood clot injury made people think he’s made of glass like AD 😭
You’re one of those ones who stocked up on NFTs during the pandemic aren’t you
He can miss 5 more games and the Spurs play 33 more games. If anything it should be expected he will qualify since he only has to play in 28⁄33 games remaining. He’s played in 22⁄24 games since returning from his calf strain and those two games were missed because he hyperextended his knee
outside of the blood clot he’s been pretty solid. the calf strain seemed to be due to getting hit by another player, so i have faith. he can still miss like 4-5 games
Can miss 4 more games, he’s got a chance
Actually 5 more because the cup game counts for games played
I think the 4 games already accounts for the cup
Yep, he’s missed 14 games so far, and normally the max you can miss is 17 (82 - 17 = 65), and the cup final gave him 1 more game he can miss.
Chet had a better case this month.
Opponents shot 59% at the rim on Wemby in January compared to 47% for Chet. 2.8bpg to Wembys 2.2 as well.
Wemby January stats.
And a screenshot for the lazies here: https://imgur.com/a/WH2I0vq
These stats don’t take into account players not even trying wemby more and more. Would need to include a rate stat or something else
But you gotta watch Spurs to know that, so people will blame the media here.
There is plenty of stats for rim detterence. Despite the constant propaganda Wembanyama doesnt even lead the league in these.
Lmao we’ve officially reached the point where r/nba is going to argue that wemby is overrated on defense, because nothing is too stupid of a contrarian position for this subreddit not to adopt.
No one thinks he’s overrated. The simple disagreement is that one player statistically had a better a month, but Wemby fans seem to think he is entitled to the award anyway.
Chet had better far higher Rim protection numbers, more blocks, a better team record, and did this with I-Hart missing all but one game in January.
Do you think Wemby had better defensive stats this month? Genuinely?
No… it’s the fact that there are already stats for rim deterrence and Rim DFGA to see how often he does contest shots. The idea that his BLKs were “low” because people didn’t contest him is erroneous. He just wasn’t as sharp this past month.
Watch the games please
We do man. We do
Ask spurs fans was he super sharp defensively this month. A lot would probably say no.
My point was that stats do not properly explain defensive value for someone like wemby who warps the entire court. Just watch the damn games.
He’s a thunder fan, he’s only been watching basketball since last season.
The Thunder got most of their bandwagon fans when they made the 2012 Finals, 14 years ago
if you look on the spurs subreddit after ever game they play someone gets clips of players actively avoiding wemby it happens every game 😭
Look man, I know yall are protective of your guy and rightfully so - I also acknowledge that he is the best defender in the league.
But if someone has better defensive stats across the board AND a better team record that month, they deserve it.
Wemby isn’t the only center that gets avoided in the paint. There’s a reason Rudy doesn’t have many blocks.
Fact is, Rudy has a higher Rim Deterrence than even Wemby.
What website is the stat from?
Edit : these are stats from nba website
Opponets pts in paint when player is on the floor per 36
Wemby: 28.4
Gobert: 35.8
Chet: 30.3
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defense
You realize wemby is almost their entire rim protection and they abuse back doors when when he Contests someone else. Okc has better team defense making it easier to stop that. Chet is an insane rim protector but lets not leave out the context.
Oh yes, because the Wolves have noted rim protector Julius Randle backing up Rudy, and Chet totally had the help of I-Hart last month despite I-Hart only playing one game in January. Wembys the only one doing it with a handicap.
Yeah just totally remove the rest of the thunder defenders that dont get cooked by their man every play and hope the rim protector can both block them stop a backdoor and box out for a rebound. Team defense plays a huge part in defensive field goal percentages.
Brother the Spurs do not have bums in the perimeter. And Wemby has a great rim pro backup
They arent bums on ball. castle is a great on ball defender, they cant guard back door cuts i watch both of these teams.
Anyway, here’s a plot showing that Castle and Champagne are among the best perimeter defenders in the league.
So teams don’t send another player off the cut down on the off side to the paint when wemby picks up thats something you dont see happen every game. Its non existent you got it
You realize the Thunder play hyperaggressive defense that does quite literally what you describe because they know they have an elite rim protector behind them?
Do they get cooked on backdoors every play?
The spurs get cooked every play on backdoors? No ofc not. Be serious.
I might put together an hour clip from the past month for you guys
how are you gonna say “i know yall are protective of your guy” and then spout some shit about rudy gobert. We’re all gonna vouch for the guy we want to win the award. i get it tho the DPOY race is realistically between Wemby and Gobert but i doubt the league will give him another DPOY (i lied add in toronto raptors goat Scottie Barnes in the race too)
The difference between us is I can freely acknowledge that Rudy wasn’t the best defender in January nor is he the best defender in the league anymore.
I’m not saying you have to do the latter because Wemby clearly is. But he wasn’t the best in January. Furthermore, Chet had a handicap that Wemby didn’t - he was missing two starters for most of the month.
if wemby wasn’t the best defender why didn’t chet simply play better ever thought about that /j
It happens for most elite rim pros man. Wemby didn’t invent rim deterrence. Now does he have the highest rim deterrence now? Yes.
Spurs were a couple points better without him than with him defensively this month so the deterrence to me just isn’t a reason for it this month.
That happens with every rim protector since Bill Russell.
Why do Spurs fans think Wembanyama has invented that? Didnt you have Duncan and Robinson on the team?
no one said anything about him inventing it bro 🥀🥀🥀 it was just an observation
Flairless thunder fan on a 6 month old account deeeefinitely has an objective view of the situation.
Yea but Chet gets posterized by attempting to play defense which is considered bad for people who thinks that lowers his defense value.
Source for Opponents shooting 59 percent on wemby please?
Here you go.
Y’all really out here downvoting us for sharing stats? Really making a run for the softest fan base in the league with this behavior
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defense-dash-lt6?DateFrom=01/01/2026&DateTo=01/31/2026&LastNGames=0&dir=A&sort=PLUSMINUS
Here
Lol at Spurs fans downvoting data from nba.com
Yep. At this point the media reputation is far ahead of the actual capability.
He lowkey scammed this one though I can’t lie.
Spurs were 5 points better defensively without him this month.
Chet had 2.8 blocks and his team defense was 1st.
Rudy also had a good shot imo. ~9 points better when he was on than off this month
Source that says the spurs were worse defensively with him on the court please
https://pivotfade.com/playerStretch/433/2026-01-06/2026-01-31⁄2025-26/Regular/lineups
Hope that shared correctly.
Chet got last month tho
Rudy hasn’t.