The San Antonio Spurs have been one of the best stories in the NBA season. Victor Wembanyama has lived up to the hype and then some leading the team to more wins than the average fan expected this early. The all-around play of Wembanyama saw him dominating offensively and defensively for the first month of the season.
Unfortunately, a calf injury has confirmed that the Spurs superstar will miss at least two weeks before re-evaluating it to figure out a timetable for his return. Wembanyama’s absence means that All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox will have to lead the team. One other interesting change sees the award potential for the young center slowing down.
Wembanyama was the dominant favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award from the offseason to now until the news confirmed he’ll miss some time. The NBA rule for 65+ games played to qualify for awards will see Wemby unable to get votes if he misses 17 or more games. This caused the odds to shift and Wembanyama has fallen to the second favorite behind one interesting name.
Who Passed Victor Wembanyama As Favorite?
The new odds-on betting favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year is Wembanyama’s NBA rival Chet Holmgren. Money has shifted to show that the Oklahoma City Thunder center will be the new favorite just ahead of Wembanyama as the top two. Most would agree that Wemby is the better defender, but he’ll have to return from the injury within two or three weeks and not miss much more time for the rest of the season.
Both players have a reputation for stifling the paint defense to stop opposing players from getting easy points. Holmgren is having a tremendous season, and his role is far more important due to All-Star Jalen Williams having an injury that has prevented him from suiting up yet.
Fox Sports reported that Wembanyama has dropped to +350 behind Holmgren’s +135 favorite odds. Evan Mobley (+500) and Amen Thompson (+850) are the only other players remotely close to these two as the top in the league. Wemby playing the 65-game minimum would all but guarantee him the award since he’s hands down the most dominant defender.
Examining Victor Wembanyama’s Chances At Winning
The timetable of two-to-three weeks can see Wembanyama missing an estimated seven-to-ten games. Missing as many as ten games complicates the margin of error moving forward to quality for the award voting. The Spurs center will only be able to miss another seven games all season if things break right in this scenario.
Holmgren has already missed four games early in the season to only have another thirteen games potentially missed before any future injury rules him out as well. The scary thing about Wembanyama is that his current timetable is to re-evaluate his injury. A strong possibility exists that he will need more time to recover and could be forced to sit out back to backs.
Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley and Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr both recently complained about the NBA scheduling having too many back-to-back games. The Spurs have tougher spurts in the schedule coming in later Winter months and it will be tough for Wembanyama to play 65 games for the DPOY Award.
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