Victor Wembanyama only played 46 games last season. That inevitably removed him from contention when it came to the Defensive Player of the Year award. Evan Mobley wound up being the recipient as a result.
No one will sit here and say Mobley is undeserving of that accolade. The Cleveland Cavaliers star is undoubtedly one of the best defensive players on the planet, with skills that could make even the other elite talents in the NBA envious.
However, Wembanyama's return in 2025-26 is being met with a near inevitability when it comes to claiming the Defensive Player of the Year award. That much was clear when the NBA GMs came together for their annual survey ahead of the new campaign.
The San Antonio Spurs star received 80 percent of the votes when it came to picking the best defensive player in the league. Mobley was tied for second with seven percent. That is a massive gap between the two defensive phenoms.
Victor Wembanyama might be the one defender Evan Mobley can’t top
Mobley is special on the defensive end. One may even feel bold enough to call him a generational defender. However, Wembanyama's upside goes beyond even that. The Spurs center could be an all-time talent on that end when things are all said and done for his career.
Not only did Wembanyama dominate the best defender category, the Spurs star was featured in other categories with strong results. Wemby also claimed best interior defender with 80 percent, and was tied for fourth when it came to who the most versatile player on that end was.
Mobley received some consideration on the interior, with John Schuhmann noting he did receive a vote in the category. The Cavaliers big man was also one of the players tied with Wembanyama in the discussions around versatility.
Mobley will not be an afterthought in the Defensive Player of the Year race. Even so, if the media members voting on the award share a similar opinion to that of the NBA GMs, this competition could be over before it starts. There is reason to believe that is the case, too.
Wembanyama was the head and shoulders frontrunner before blood clots forced a premature end to the second season of his career. No one will root for that outcome, but if the Spurs center misses the necessary mark for games, that would be Mobley's best shot to repeat as the DPOY winner.
The rising star in Cleveland is certainly in his own stratosphere when it comes to defensive ability. The problem for him is that Wembanyama may have his own galaxy.