While Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cemented his case for MVP with a 47-point game in an overtime win against the Detroit Pistons, All-Star Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are on a nine-game winning streak. Winners of 14 of their last 15 outings, the Spurs are trailing the Thunder by only 2.5 games in the Western Conference standings.
With only six games left in the regular season, Wembanyama and the Spurs haven't shown any signs of slowing down, which is keeping the MVP candidate in a race with Gilgeous-Alexander, Windhorst said, per ESPN's Get Up.
“I can't believe this is how I'm describing this because I'm not one of these MVP heads. His case is airtight, but not locked down. He's been the favorite for months. If you look at the last two nights, he's had incredible clutch performances against the Knicks and the Pistons — two of the east's best teams — granted the Pistons were missing really key guys last night. There's no reason why we shouldn't declare him the winner. But Victor Wembanyama has been so impressive, and this race for the No. 1 seed is crackling.”
For Windhorst, the No. 1 seed could be a deciding factor for MVP voters torn between Spurs' Wembanyama and Thunder's Gilgeous-Alexander.
“Both of these teams clearly want it. They're clearly playing their guys heavy minutes,” Windhorst added. “So, I can't say anything negative about Shai's case. But I cannot tell you it's over.”
Tyrese Haliburton's MVP pick between Spurs' Wembanyama, SGA
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton revealed his MVP pick for 2024-25, selecting Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over Spurs All-Star center Victor Wembanyama. Haliburton, who lost to SGA and the Thunder in Game 7 of last year's NBA Finals, picked Shai over Wemby, per NBA on Prime's Nightcap.
“If I had a vote, it would for sure go to Shai for back-to-back. I think what Wemby is doing in San Antonio is amazing,” Haliburton said. “So, I don't want to take away from that. I would vote for Shai, but I see the campaign that's going for him. It's within well reason, but I would definitely vote for Shai.”
"My vote would for sure go to Shai back-to-back."
Tyrese Haliburton says he respects Wemby's success, but he'd pick SGA for MVP. pic.twitter.com/uonfCXnSFh
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) March 28, 2026
Gilgeous-Alexander, who's a -450, is the odds-on favorite to repeat as MVP, leading Wembanyama's +350 odds, which is followed by Los Angeles Lakers All-Star Luka Doncic (+3000).
