2024 NBA awards odds: Victor Wembanyama's DPOY case

The odds suggest Rudy Gobert will be the near-unanimous NBA Defensive Player of the Year, but is that truly the case?

Sitting as a -1000 favorite on BetRivers Sportsbook, Gobert has been favored for nearly the entire season, but don’t forget about the eighth wonder of the world: Victor Wembanyama.

Since the All-Star Break, Wembanyama is averaging an incredible 2.0 steals and 4.6 blocks per game.

The San Antonio Spurs’ French prodigy is putting together an incredible end to the season and should see his odds climb between now and April.

Wembanyama is averaging 5.7 blocks plus steals per game this season; this would be the highest number since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1992-1993, and a feat only completed eight times in NBA history.

And this number is only going to go up assuming health for the NBA’s budding superstar.

Since the All-Star break, Wembanyama has been averaging 6.6 blocks + steals per game, which rivals David Robinson’s 1991-92 season when he averaged 6.8 over the course of 68 games.

Going forward, Wembanyama conversations will probably dominate this award, so grabbing him on a rapidly increasing hot streak is worth taking a stab at 12/1 this late in the season.

It is a worthy bet, considering where his statistics will stand with 20% of the season still to be played.

Wembanyama said Thursday that he knows that Gobert has the inside track, but he put the rest of the league on notice going forward.

“I know that Rudy (Gobert) has a very good chance of winning it this year, and it would be deserved. Let him win it now because, after that, it’s no longer his turn,” Wembanyama said.

The rest of the league should and probably is afraid of Wembanyama’s prowess on the defensive end.

And while the odds speculate it’s all about Gobert, it’s also worth noting that he lost his running mate, Karl Anthony-Towns, to a torn meniscus, resulting in a drop in effectiveness lately.

He was leading all centers in defensive field goal percentage allowed but has since dropped well below Wembanyama and is middle of the pack among centers.

This is to say it is more than reasonable to expect Wembanyama to make up some ground here over the next 20 games and that Gobert’s impact is dwindling with Towns out.

There’s also an increasing media narrative within the industry—when betting on awards, it’s important to also follow where the buzz is among voters in addition to who is a worthy winner.

Voter Ryen Russillo recently came out on his podcast saying, “I am voting for Wembanyama Defensive Player of the Year.”

I suspect that much of this sentiment will continue within league circles as Wembanyama continues to adjust to the American game and put up gaudy stats that Gobert simply can’t match.

Expect more voters to look at Wembanyama, who is also going to win Rookie of the Year.