Victor Wembanyama has spent the last month turning the NBA into his personal playground, leading a San Antonio Spurs resurgence that few saw coming so quickly. The 7-foot-4 phenom is currently averaging 24.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, and a league-leading 3.0 blocks per game for a Spurs team that has climbed to 54-18, good for second in the Western Conference.
With the regular season winding down, Wembanyama recently made his intentions clear, publicly stating that his individual dominance and team success should make him the frontrunner for the Most Valuable Player award.
While the basketball world has largely embraced the “Wemby” era, Skip Bayless is sounding the alarm on the young star’s recent self-promotion. During an appearance on “Gil’s Arena”, Bayless argued that the French center is starting to believe his own hype before he has truly conquered the league.
“This young man to me because he has been campaigning several times for several weeks, is getting dangerously full of himself a little prematurely,” Bayless said. “That he’s starting to believe he is the Alien, that he does already own this league. I remind everybody he still haven’t played one single playoff game in his life, not one. I would remind everybody that if you look at his regular season won-loss record in three years of pro basketball, it’s 84-90.”
The career record of 84-90 is factually accurate, reflecting the massive rebuilding project San Antonio undertook after drafting him in 2023. While the Spurs were abysmal in his rookie year, going 22-60, their transformation into a 50-win juggernaut this season makes Bayless’s criticism of the total record feel a bit dated.
However, the point regarding playoff experience remains a valid hurdle in an MVP race typically reserved for established postseason winners. But even then, the fact that the Spurs went from lottery fixture to legitimate title contender in one healthy season from their franchise cornerstone speaks volumes about Wembanyama’s impact.
Bayless also took aim at a specific decline in Wembanyama’s defensive statistical impact. Despite Wembanyama still leading the league in blocks, Bayless noted that his production at the rim has actually regressed from his historic sophomore campaign.
“This year his blocks per game… they have fallen almost a full block per game this year,” Bayless noted. “And that’s a dramatic drop if you know total blocks for a season.”
The numbers back this claim up. Wembanyama averaged 3.8 blocks per game during the 2024-25 season, a mark that has dipped to 3.0 this year. While 3.0 blocks still leads the NBA, the 0.8 block-per-game drop supports Bayless’s argument that the “Alien” isn’t quite as impenetrable as he was a year ago.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama dunks over New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby.Brad Penner-Imagn Images
(Brad Penner-Imagn Images)Skip Bayless Makes His Choices Clear for MVP and DPOY Awards
Despite his critiques, Bayless isn’t counting Wembanyama out of the awards circuit entirely, though he believes the MVP is already out of reach. He expects the Spurs’ star to dominate the Defensive Player of the Year voting while falling short of the league’s highest individual honor.
“He will win defensive player of the year. Run away,” Bayless declared. “But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is going to win most valuable player. Run away.”
Gilgeous-Alexander has a compelling case, leading the 57-15 Oklahoma City Thunder to the best record in the West while averaging 31.5 points per game. Interestingly, on the same show, Bayless brutally criticized Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic, who just surpassed Wembanyama for second place on the latest NBA MVP Ladder.
Doncic has been on a scorching run for the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, averaging a staggering 39.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists over his last 10 games. Despite this offensive explosion, Bayless labeled the Slovenian superstar as the “least efficient player” in the league due to his high turnover rate and occasional shooting slumps.
With three weeks left in the season, Wembanyama’s campaigning has certainly fueled the fire, but he’ll have to overcome both the stats and the skeptics to catch SGA at the finish line.
Related: NBA Analysts Choose Victor Wembanyama Over Luka Doncic for Their Playoff Teams for 1 Reason
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.