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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the regular season and NBA Finals MVP awards last year en route to his first championship.
While Gilgeous-Alexander is having another strong season that has put him back in MVP discussions for 2025-2026, Victor Wembanyama believes there should be a clear favorite for the award.
Wembanyama scored 26 points in Monday’s win over the Miami Heat, helping the Spurs win a division title and end a six-season playoff drought, then declared he would silence any MVP debate.
“I’ve thought about it,” the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year said. “I think right now there’s a debate. There should be, even though I think I should be leading the race. I’m trying to make sure there’s no debate at the end of the season.”
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San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) drives to the basket against the Miami Heat in the second quarter at the Kaseya Center on October 15, 2024 in Miami, Florida. (Sam Navarro/Imagn Images)
Wembanyama enters Wednesday’s matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies averaging 24.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game.
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While these numbers help bolster Wembanyama’s MVP case, others can make a case as well. In addition to Gilgeous-Alexander, Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, is also considered a top candidate.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) dribbles the ball in the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California on March 17, 2026. (Sergio Estrada/Imagn Images)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, already a three-time MVP, currently has slightly better odds to win the award this year, with Wembanyama in third, according to data compiled by ESPN. New NBA rules require a minimum of 65 games played for a player to be eligible for the MVP award.
Wembanyama also laid out a three-pronged case in support of his MVP bid.
“My first would be that defense is 50% of the game and it’s underrated so far in the MVP race. I think I’m the most influential player defensively in the league,” Wembanyama said. “Second argument would be that we almost swept OKC in the season and we dominated them three times with their right team. … The third argument would be that offensive impact is not just points.”
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, center, celebrates with teammates after hitting a game-winning shot against the Phoenix Suns in the final seconds of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Texas, March 19, 2026. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson voiced strong support for Wembanyama’s MVP campaign, pointing to the impact he sees every day behind the scenes.
“I think he’s close,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “All the guys you mentioned are deserving; a couple of them already have that award. And I’m very biased. I get to see one of those guys every single night. I get to see him on the practice field. I get to see what he’s doing in the morning. I get to see what he’s doing right now, after the game. So I understand that my opinion and my view and perspective is very different than almost everybody else’s.”
San Antonio enters Wednesday with 54 wins and will enter the playoffs no lower than No. 2 in the Western Conference.
