![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/wemby5.jpg\")
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Victor Wembanyama led the NBA in blocked shots in the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs has won the 2025-26 Magic Johnson Award, which honors the NBA player who best combines excellence on the court with cooperation and grace in dealing with the media and fans, the Professional Basketball Writers Association announced today.<\/p>\n
Wembanyama\u00a0averaged\u00a025\u00a0points,\u00a011.5\u00a0rebounds,\u00a03.1\u00a0assists\u00a0and\u00a0a\u00a0league-leading\u00a03.1\u00a0blocks per game this season and\u00a0was named\u00a0an\u00a0All-Star for\u00a0the second\u00a0time. Off\u00a0the court, Wembanyama consistently fostered an atmosphere of mutual respect and openness with reporters\u00a0who cover\u00a0the\u00a0NBA.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor Wembanyama thoroughly embodies the spirit of this award \u2013 as a superstar who is just as thoughtful and engaging off the court as he is dominant on the court,\u201d said PBWA president Howard Beck. \u201cHe is giving of himself, amiable and patient with reporters, and eager to discuss just about any subject \u2013 from the MVP race to social justice to the Northern Lights. As one of our members put it, Victor is \u2018a deep thinker who understands the power of his words.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Beck\u00a0added:\u00a0\u201cEven\u00a0with\u00a0the\u00a0immense spotlight\u00a0and expectations\u00a0he\u00a0faces daily,\u00a0Victor consistently approaches his interviews with enthusiasm and a sense of humor. The day before he was drafted in 2023, Victor said his goal was to be the best in \u2018all dimensions of the job,\u2019 including \u2018the best\u00a0at the media, the press conference stuff.\u2019 As he has on\u00a0the court,\u00a0he has more\u00a0than\u00a0lived\u00a0up\u00a0to\u00a0his\u00a0promise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wembanyama is the first Spur to win the award and, at age 22, the youngest honoree since Kevin Durant(also 22) in 2011.<\/p>\n
Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers finished second in the balloting, for the second straight year. The other finalists, based on nominations from PBWA members, were Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. A vote of the full PBWA membership determined the winner.<\/p>\n
The award,\u00a0created\u00a0in\u00a02001,\u00a0is\u00a0named\u00a0in\u00a0honor of Earvin\u00a0\u201cMagic\u201d\u00a0Johnson,\u00a0the\u00a0former Los Angeles Lakers star, who was consistently engaging, thoughtful and gracious with the media throughout\u00a0his\u00a0Hall\u00a0of\u00a0Fame\u00a0career.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0PBWA\u00a0annually\u00a0honors\u00a0an\u00a0NBA\u00a0PR\u00a0staff\u00a0(Brian\u00a0McIntyre\u00a0Award),\u00a0coach\u00a0(Rudy\u00a0Tomjanovich Award) and star player\u00a0(Magic Johnson Award) who go above and beyond to work with the media\u00a0and\u00a0help\u00a0inform\u00a0fans.\u00a0Under the\u00a0PBWA\u2019s\u00a0current\u00a0rules,\u00a0adopted\u00a0in\u00a02020,\u00a0no\u00a0team\u00a0or individual\u00a0can\u00a0win\u00a0in\u00a0consecutive\u00a0years.<\/p>\n
The PBWA is\u00a0composed of more than 200 writers and editors who regularly cover the NBA and WNBA\u00a0for newspapers,\u00a0magazines\u00a0and\u00a0online\u00a0news\u00a0outlets.<\/p>\n
Magic Johnson Award winners<\/p>\n
2000-01 Ray Allen, Milwaukee Bucks
\n2001-02 Elton Brand, L.A. Clippers
\n2002-03 Jalen Rose, Chicago Bulls
\n2003-04 Jermaine O\u2019Neal, Indiana Pacers
\n2004-05 Antawn Jamison, Washington Wizards
\n2005-06 Grant Hill, Orlando Magic
\n2006-07 Shane Battier, Houston Rockets
\n2007-08 Derek Fisher, Los Angeles Lakers
\n2008-09 Brandon Roy, Portland Trail Blazers
\n2009-10 Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
\n2010-11 Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
\n2011-12 Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
\n2012-13 Shane Battier, Miami Heat
\n2013-14 Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
\n2014-15 Pau Gasol, Chicago Bulls
\n2015-16 Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
\n2016-17 Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
\n2017-18 DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
\n2018-19 Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
\n2019-20 Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
\n2020-21 N\/A (pandemic)
\n2021-22 N\/A (pandemic)
\n2022-23 Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
\n2023-24 Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
\n2024-25 Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
\n2025-26 Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Victor Wembanyama led the NBA in blocked shots in the 2025-26 season. Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611367,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85,297030],"class_list":{"0":"post-611366","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-victor-wembanyama-pbwa-award-2025-26"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}