It was expected and it was confirmed. Frenchman Victor Wembanyama was the unanimous choice for NBA Rookie of the Year, confirming his tremendous debut season. Now he has his sights set on Defensive Player of the Season as he attempts to break the record of being the first player to win both awards in the same season.

With 99 first-place votes, the Frenchman surpassed Chet Holmgren, who had 98 for second and one for third, and Brandon Miller, who had 83 for third and one for second.He is the first unanimous Rookie of the Year since Karl-Anthony Towns in 2015/16. Over forty years ago, Ralph Sampson in 1983/84, David Robinson in 1989/90, Blake Griffin in 2010/11 and Damian Lillard in 2012/13 also achieved the feat.

The Spurs player had a tremendous season, averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals in 71 games. He led the NBA in blocks and averaged 32.5% from three-point range, 46.5% from the field and 79.6% from the free throw line.

"Wemby joined Manute Bol in 1986 as the only rookies to lead the NBA in blocks for a season. At the end of March, "Wemby" scored a career-high 40 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in a win over New York, proving to be a major asset to a team that was coming off a forgettable season (22-60, second worst in the West).

The 20-year-old centre, who was born in Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt on 4 January 2004, is the first Frenchman to win the award and only the third San Antonio player to do so. He follows in the footsteps of David Robinson (21.1 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3 blocks in his rookie year) and Tim Duncan (19 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in his debut year), also drafted first overall.

"My goal was always to make my team the best it could be and get better as the year went on," Wembanyama told US NBA broadcaster TNT.

"I knew in order to do that I had to be individually good and dominant on the court, so it was a big thing for me, a big thing to get."

"What I worked on a lot is playmaking, shot selection, and also after the minutes restrictions I had, I had to get back in good shape to play more than 30-35 minutes. The cardio, I think I've improved a lot. I've never felt better in so many months, so I'm really happy," said Wembanyama.

"There are a lot of things I want to work on," he said. "Physically the work will never be done. I've had my plan for my whole body for months and we'll keep finding new ways to improve and work on my body.

Wembanyama, also a finalist for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, is likely to be selected for France's Olympic team for the Paris Games.

The grandson of basketball players and son of a track athlete father and basketball player and coach mother, Wembanyama made a big decision as a young man: he left goalkeeping in football to become the young player with the brightest future in the world's most dominant league, the NBA.