San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert have a lot in common. Both hail from France, both are extravagantly lengthy and both are among the best rim-protectors in the NBA.
However, that didn’t stop Wembanyama from teasing Gobert Thursday when asked to assess the league’s Defensive Player of the Year race.
Asked about the honor—which no Spur has won since forward Kawhi Leonard in 2016—Wembanyama said in French that “it certainly interests me” and “it’s [an award] I want to win in the future.”
The rookie acknowledged that Gobert would likely win the award in 2024, but warned the three-time Defensive Player of the Year his time was running short.
“I know that Rudy [Gobert] has a very good chance of winning it this year and it would be deserved,” Wembanyama said in French, as shared by the San Antonio Express-News. “Let him win it now because after that, it’s no longer his turn,”.
🎙️Victor Wembanyama sur le titre du défenseur de l’année : « C’est sûr que ça m’intéresse, c’est une récompense que je veux gagner dans le futur ».
— Théo Quintard (@TheoQuintard) March 14, 2024
« Rudy (Gobert) a de très grosses chances de le gagner cette année. Ce serait mérité mais qu’il le gagne maintenant car après ce ne… pic.twitter.com/TdB99oPEf9
Wembanyama and Gobert currently rank first and sixth in the league in blocks per game, respectively.
