![\"Victor](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2266947932_a0926b-e1774619835744.jpg\")
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SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – MARCH 19: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs is surrounded by teammates after he scored the game-winning basket against the Phoenix Suns at Frost Bank Center on March 19, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. <\/p>\n
Victor Wembanyama<\/a> of the San Antonio Spurs<\/a> has been making a strong case for the MVP award all season, in what has been the healthiest, most productive, and most successful year of his NBA<\/a> career.<\/p>\n While there are still a few more weeks of the season to go, Wembanyama remains a top favorite for the MVP award, and based on the latest update, he could be leading the race over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> of the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> and Luka Doncic<\/a> of the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the latest MVP ladder published on NBA.com<\/a>, Shaun Powell listed Wembanyama as the favorite for the award, over the two other stars as well as Nikola Jokic<\/a> and Jaylen Brown<\/a>.<\/p>\n t.co\/wWGNmWnCY9\u2019s<\/a> updated MVP Ladder:<\/p>\n 1. Victor Wembanyama In 58 games this season, Wembanyama is averaging 24.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, three assists, and 3.1 blocks on 50.5% shooting, having the best season of his career while San Antonio is 55-18 and second in the West.<\/a><\/p>\n Victor Wembanyama Leads NBA MVP Ladder<\/p>\n Per Powell of NBA.com, Wembanyama is now the leader in the clubhouse for the MVP award this season. He\u2019s previously trailed Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic in the race, but while Doncic has been making a strong case<\/a> to win the award himself over the past few weeks, he still sits behind the franchise star of the Spurs.<\/p>\n \u201cWembanyama is transforming into a historic defender in such a short period of time,\u201d Powell wrote. \u201cUsually, that\u2019s the toughest part of the game for a young player to master. Wembanyama is different in that he entered the league with solid defensive instincts and, coupled with his enviable size, is making a massive impact here in his third season.\u201d<\/p>\n The Spurs are currently third in net rating<\/a>, third in defensive rating, and fifth in offensive rating\u00a0 in what has been Wembanyama\u2019s healthiest season of his early career. They have the second best record in the NBA, and while he\u2019s been undoubtedly their best player, he\u2019s been mentioned in the MVP race all season.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But recently, with the impact he\u2019s shown on both ends of the court, excluding him from the conversation has now become a near-impossible task.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has 17 blocks in his last three games and is averaging nearly as many blocks per game this season as the Utah Jazz<\/a> (3.8 bpg), Denver Nuggets<\/a> (3.9) and Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> (3.9) are as a team\u00a0this season,\u201d Powell added about his defensive impact. \u201cFinally, Wembanyama is doing this despite averaging under 30 minutes a night. His stats would expand with more minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n If he does win the MVP this season, which feels more and more<\/a> like a possibility, Wembanyama would be the youngest player in NBA history<\/a> to take home the honor.<\/p>\n Victor Wembanyama On Why He Should Win The MVP Award<\/p>\n While he\u2019s been campaigning for himself to win the award throughout<\/a> the season, Wembanyama recently spoke to the media to explain why he deserves the MVP trophy over everyone else.<\/p>\n When speaking to Jared Weiss of The Athletic<\/a> after a recent game, the Spurs\u2019 star said that, due to how much he prioritizes and impacts the game on defense, he should automatically be considered for the award.<\/p>\n \u201cMy first one would be that defense is 50 percent of the game and that is undervalued, so far, in the MVP race,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cI believe I\u2019m the most impactful player defensively in the league. Second argument would be that we almost swept OKC in the season and we dominated them three times with their real team and four times with the, you know, more rotation players. My third argument would be that offense impact is not just points.\u201d<\/p>\n While he might not have the same scoring numbers<\/a> as either Gilgeous-Alexander, Doncic, or Jokic, Wembanyama\u2019s combined impact across all 92 feet of the basketball court is what makes him a favorite for the MVP. San Antonio is a strong team full of talented players<\/a>, but it\u2019s fair to say that without what he brings on defense, they wouldn\u2019t be anywhere close to where they are now in the standings.<\/p>\n When talking about his MVP case, Draymond Green<\/a> of the Golden State Warriors<\/a> agreed with many of the points the 22-year-old from the Spurs brought up, adding that it\u2019s up to each player to state their own case to the media.<\/p>\n \u201cI tip my cap to Wemby for being willing to sit up there on that platform and say, \u2018This is why,\u2019\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cNot hide from the question. Not just assume they\u2019ll figure it out. No, they won\u2019t. I\u2019m happy he\u2019s smart enough to know they won\u2019t figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n Draymond Green on Victor Wembanyama vocalizing his MVP case: \u201cI hated it\u2026and I absolutely loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n Green has been vocal in the past on DPOY: \u201cYou don\u2019t help them see it, damnit they can\u2019t see.\u201d<\/p>\n Full passionate five-minute soundbite <\/p>\n According to most major sportsbooks<\/a>, Wembanyama is anywhere from third to fifth to win the award, with anywhere from +2000 to +3500 MVP odds.<\/p>\n However, as Powell, writing for the official NBA.com, now has the French center leading the race, it could foreshadow the Spurs\u2019 unicorn as the new frontrunner for the MVP trophy this season.<\/p>\n Regardless, there\u2019s still nine more games to go in the regular season, and a lot can happen in that span.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tEli Gregorski<\/a> is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Spurs\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – MARCH 19: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs is surrounded by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3797],"tags":[7,6,969,474,4075,4074,534],"class_list":{"0":"post-682389","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio-spurs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-san-antonio","11":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","12":"tag-sanantonio","13":"tag-sanantoniospurs","14":"tag-spurs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116302041040063533","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
\n3. Nikola Joki\u0107
\n4. Luka Don\u010di\u0107
\n5. Jaylen Brown
\n6. Cade Cunningham
\n7. Jalen Johnson
\n8. Kawhi Leonard
\n9. Donovan Mitchell
\n10. Anthony Edwards<\/p>\n