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Victor Wembanyama Makes NBA History With All-Defensive Team Selection
The NBA announced the selections for the NBA All-Defensive First Team on Tuesday, and rookie Victor Wembanyama made history with his selection to the team.
The San Antonio Spurs forward is the first rookie to be named to the first team in NBA history. Five other rookies in history have been named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, but Wembanyama made the jump to the first team.
Wembanyama is in good company as those five other former rookies are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Manute Bol, David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Both Robinson and Duncan were also Spurs players when they were selected to the second team.
San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama is the first rookie to be selected to the Kia NBA All-Defensive First Team. The NBA has named an All-Defensive Team (First Team and Second Team) annually since the 1968-69 season.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 21, 2024
Wembanyama is the sixth rookie to earn a spot on the Kia NBA… pic.twitter.com/GnP8DcQ1zD
Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert was the other player who was unanimously voted to the first team this season. Wembanyama received the second-most first place votes. The other three players selected this season include Los Angeles Lakers' Anthony Davis, Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo and New Orleans Pelicans' Herb Jones.
The 2023-24 Kia NBA All-Defensive First Team:
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 21, 2024
▪️ Bam Adebayo of @MiamiHEAT
▪️ Anthony Davis of @Lakers
▪️ Rudy Gobert of @Timberwolves
▪️ Herb Jones of @PelicansNBA
▪️ Victor Wembanyama of @spurs pic.twitter.com/Ye6oB0T5VV
Wembanyama was named the Rookie of the Year, and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
In Wembanyama's first NBA season, he averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game.
Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.