Victor Wembanyama adds another milestone with unanimous NBA All-Defensive Team recognition

Victor Wembanyama keeps adding achievements at a pace the NBA rarely sees. On Friday night, the San Antonio Spurs star became the only unanimous selection on the league’s 2025-26 All-Defensive First Team, another sign that his impact on the defensive end has already reshaped how teams attack San Antonio.

Every one of the 100 voters placed him on the First Team, the same clean sweep that followed his unanimous Defensive Player of the Year victory earlier this season.What stands out is not only the award itself, but how quickly Wembanyama has turned dominance into expectation. Three seasons into his NBA career, he already owns two First Team All-Defensive selections and has become the player opponents actively avoid near the rim.

Some defenders block shots. Wembanyama changes possessions before they even begin. Players hesitate, pull the ball back out, or abandon shots entirely once they spot his reach waiting inside.

Victor Wembanyama becomes a unanimous All-Defensive First Team pick

The announcement confirmed what most around the league expected after Victor Wembanyama’s historic season. The 21-year-old finished with 197 blocks, averaging more than three per game while also collecting 11.5 rebounds a night.

He ranked near the top of the NBA in defensive rating and defensive rebounding, numbers that only reinforced what the eye test already showed every week.Joining Wembanyama on the First Team were Chet Holmgren, Ausar Thompson, Rudy Gobert and Derrick White. Gobert collected his ninth career All-Defensive honor, while Holmgren, Thompson and White each secured their first First Team appearance.

The Second Team featured Bam Adebayo, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Cason Wallace and Dyson Daniels.

Daniels and Gobert are now the only players to appear on the All-Defensive teams in each of the last two seasons.Wembanyama’s presence has also started lifting the Spurs around him. Young guard Stephon Castle narrowly missed selection after receiving multiple First Team votes. Inside league circles, many already view Castle as one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders. If both players eventually land on the All-Defensive teams together, they would become the first Spurs duo to accomplish the feat since Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green did it during the 2016-17 season.

Is Victor Wembanyama already the NBA’s most feared defender?

Around the league, the conversation has shifted from potential to certainty. Coaches, players and voters now seem aligned on one thing: Wembanyama is already setting the standard for modern NBA defense. The question is no longer whether he belongs among elite defenders. It is how long the rest of the league can keep up with him.