There's little debate that Victor Wembanyama has grown into one of the NBA's top players in his third season. The 23-year-old's monstrous production has elevated the San Antonio Spurs to legitimate contender status. Is it enough to make him the league's youngest MVP of all time?
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson thinks so.
“He’s as big a needle-mover for his team to win [as anybody],” Johnson said before Thursday's matchup with the Brooklyn Nets. “The individual stuff that goes into being identified as the best or most valuable is offense, defense, the boards and everything that goes in between. He’s at the forefront for [each of] those. And there’s other guys in the league that do that. I haven’t taken a deep dive on that, but I definitely think he’s in the conversation. It would be hard for someone to make a logical argument as to why he’s not in that conversation.”
Wembanyama's two-way contributions have led the Spurs to the NBA's third-best record (42-16).
Victor Wembanyama enters MVP conversation while leading Spurs ascnesion
The French phenom has averaged 24.0 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists on .503/.353/.812 shooting splits. Offensively, he's one of six players averaging 24-plus points on 50 percent shooting or better, alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and Austin Reaves.
Meanwhile, Wembanyama has continued to have a historic impact defensively. He leads the NBA with 3.9 stocks (steals + blocks) per game, 0.8 ahead of the next highest player (Scottie Barnes: 3.0). The Spurs allow 10.6 fewer points per 100 possessions with him on the court vs. off, the NBA's second-highest defensive rating swing, behind only Rudy Gobert (-12.7), per CleaningTheGlass.
Wembanyama currently has the fifth-best MVP odds at +3300, behind Gilgeous-Alexander (-190), Jokic (+300), Cade Cunningham (+1400) and Luka Doncic (+2000), per FanDuel Sportsbook. The Spurs star can miss only three more games to maintain his eligibility.
