Beyond the trophies and longevity, the French phenom’s historic block rates and sheer intimidation factor should force a radical rewrite of the NBA’s all-time defensive rankings.
Victor Wembanyama is a rare specimen — and not just because he's 7-foot-4 with an 8-foot wingspan or because he moves like a guard.
Three NBA seasons have somehow been enough for Victor Wembanyama to establish himself among the greatest defenders in league history — even if his résumé hasn't yet caught up to that reality.
I'll put it another way.
If you had to pick one player from any era in NBA history to contest a game-winning shot for $1 million ... who would it be?
There are plenty of worthy candidates.
But after just three seasons, it's hard to argue Victor Wembanyama's name doesn't belong early in that conversation.
Would anyone really choose Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dennis Rodman or Kevin Garnett over Wembanyama today because they own more trophies?
Do Defensive Player of the Year awards, All-Defensive selections and career longevity really change how good Wembanyama is at defending a basketball court?
That logic doesn't check out, especially when we can project that the French phenom will rival all of the pioneers of the sport in terms of honors when his playing days are over.
And that projection is exactly why it seems strange that Wembanyama landed at No. 36 in Bleacher Report's ranking of the 99 best NBA defenders of all-time.
But here's the thing ... Bleacher Report relied on "advanced metrics, traditional production, All-Defensive and Defensive Player of the Year accolades, peak dominance, longevity and the good, old-fashioned eye test" to determine their list.
Which is how you end up with Chris Paul (No. 29) ranked ahead of Wembanyama.
No disrespect to Paul, who is certainly one of the greatest defensive guards the league has ever seen, but genuinely, who would rather have him defend the ball than Wemabnyama with a game on the line?
Bleacher Report themselves even recognized the cautious placement of Wembanyama in their justification.
"If anything, this ranking might actually be a little conservative, and it could certainly look that way in a few years," they wrote.
Excluding the individual awards he simply hasn't had enough time to accumulate, a legitimate case can already be made that Wembanyama belongs in the conversation among the greatest defenders the NBA has ever seen.
He averages 3.5 blocks per game through three professional seasons — tied with Mark Eaton for the highest mark in NBA history.
Among the top 100 players in NBA history in career blocks per game, Wembanyama also averages more steals per game (1.1) than 84 percent of them.
And those numbers still fail to capture what makes him so unique: the shots opponents never attempt, the drives they abandon and the offensive possessions he disrupts simply by existing on the floor.
That's why ranking Wembanyama 36th all time feels way too "conservative."
The accolades will come. His defensive greatness is already here.
