SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama fell short of the NBA’s 65-game appearance threshold to qualify for postseason awards this year.
He got one anyway.
Surprising the San Antonio Spurs’ 21-year-old superstar, Mitch Johnson delivered a trophy to Wembanyama to commemorate him leading the NBA in blocked shots.
“We have a rule here that you have to play 46 games to get trophies handed out to you,” the coach said, “so, you made it.”
In his appearances this season Wembanyama averaged 24.3 points, 11 rebounds and a league-leading 3.8 blocks per game on 47 percent shooting from the field. He was on pace for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, a spot on 1-of-3 All-NBA squads and potentially the league’s Most Improved Player of the Year Award.
As far as totals, the center tallied 176 total blocks — 28 more than second place. The top five rim protectors in the NBA are as follows:
1) Victor Wembanyama, SAS (176)
2) Brook Lopez, MIL (148)
3) Myles Turner, IND (144)
4) Walker Kessler, UTA (138)
5) Evan Mobley, CLE (113)
Wembanyama was sidelined on Feb. 20 after team doctors found a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. Since then, the Frenchman has been working on getting back to full health, and the team expects him to be fully ready by the time training camp rolls around.
If he stays healthy then, he’ll be eligible for more than just a blocks trophy.
