Halfway through the NBA season, international San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama and Los Angeles Lakers superstar Anthony Davis appear to be 1A and 1B in the race for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
This is frustrating for Davis, the 12-year vet who has two top-three finishes in DPOY voting but has never won outright. He told Shams Charania earlier this week he feels there's a "narrative" currently working in Wembanyama’s favor.
"I feel the narrative is being pushed for Wemby to get it," Davis said on Tuesday. "Obviously he's averaging like four blocks or something crazy like that. But then it goes back to, are we talking about just blocks? I don't know how anything works anymore."
On Wednesday night, after an eventful game for the budding Spurs star, Wembanyama was asked about the comments. The 21-year-old phenom had a blunt response.
"I really don't care about individual accolades," Wembanyama said. "It's not something that I worry about. If I end up being Defensive Player of the Year it means I've helped my team on that side of the court. It means I've done my best and I've been rewarded for it, but at the end of the day the best reward is the wins."
Asked Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama for his response to Lakers Anthony Davis comments stating if he wins DPOY, it would be due to an NBA “Narrative” being pushed:
— Carolina Teague (@CTtheMicSlayer) January 30, 2025
“I really don’t care about individual accolades..if I win DPOY, it means I’ve helped my team..”
Full answer:… pic.twitter.com/gyunXv0tKh
A mature response from the young center.
Davis's frustration is surely understandable. He's been recognized as one of the best defenders in the league for a long time now and always has the stats to back up his DPOY candidacy. But when it gets down to voting there's always been something that prevents Davis from taking home the trophy— and then the cycle restarts.
But Wembanyama is averaging 3.9 blocks per game this year. His insane length, athleticism, and instincts change the geometry of the court and lead to players outright giving up in the paint more often than not. Davis is a deserving candidate but so is Wembanyama—narrative aside.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Victor Wembanyama Had Blunt Response to Anthony Davis's Critical DPOY Comments.
