Victor Wembanyama has only played one season in the NBA but his peers already have incredibly high praise for the big man.
In an anonymous survey of 142 players around the association, reporters from The Athletic asked nearly one-third of the league to answer a series of questions. For example, we learned Indiana Fever draftee Caitlin Clark is the second-most popular non-NBA player among players in the league.
One of the questions was if you could pick one player to build a franchise around, who would it be? Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, emerged as the player with the most votes in this category.
Victor Wembanyama entered last year’s draft with enormous hype.
And it's safe to say he delivered on the hype in his rookie season in the eyes of his peers.
He's the ideal franchise building block, according to our anonymous poll.https://t.co/WvDgZabcIX pic.twitter.com/flApx0MYGL
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 22, 2024
Even though he missed the playoffs, Wembanyama had a slight edge over two-time NBA MVP and reigning NBA Finals MVP winner Nikola Jokic.
But that isn’t shocking considering that he is quite a bit younger and so long as he stays healthy, he should have a much longer career remaining than the Denver superstar.
Wembanyama also has a far greater defensive impact than Jokic. In fact, per this survey, he is actually a better defender than anyone else in the league.
Victor Wembanyama's French counterpart Rudy Gobert will likely win the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award.
But some players feel that Spurs phenom has already passed Gobert — and everyone else in the league — in defensive ability.https://t.co/1lLp98fIQE pic.twitter.com/2Aq9bO60SZ
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) April 22, 2024
Wembanyama likely isn’t going to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year as a rookie.
That honor will instead potentially go to Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert. Wembanyama, however, feels confident that the next several years of the award will go to himself.
RELATED: Victor Wembanyama’s shot at Rudy Gobert shows us just how serious he is about winning
It seems the rest of the league agrees with him, too, as they already feel he is the best defensive player in the NBA.
This is hardly a secret but the future looks bright for Wembanyama in San Antonio.
