{"id":697940,"date":"2026-04-04T15:29:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T15:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/697940\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T15:29:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T15:29:17","slug":"nba-announcement-gives-hope-for-victor-wembanyama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/697940\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Announcement Gives Hope for Victor Wembanyama"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Victor\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs reacts during the second quarter of the game against the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center on March 23, 2026 in Miami, Florida. <\/p>\n

Just as every sportsbook lists top odds for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to be the MVP favorite, the NBA<\/a> announced its MVP ladder for the second-to-last week of action, and it favors Victor Wembanyama more than anybody.<\/p>\n

The San Antonio Spurs center didn\u2019t move. After producing averages of 24.7 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks over the past week, Wembanyama is in good shape for the award, according to NBA.com\u2019s Shaun Powell<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis case is bolstered by his ability to dominate without requiring ample minutes. Wembanyama averages just 29.2 per game yet continues to make a significant impact and piles up the stats in those minutes,\u201d Powell wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe played 60 combined minutes in his last two games, yet scored 82 points (back-to-back 41 points). He also had 18 rebounds and three blocks against the Warriors in the second of those two games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victor Wembanyama\u2019s Major Third Season\"\"<\/p>\n

GettySAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA \u2013 APRIL 01: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs reacts during the second half of their game against the Golden State Warriors<\/a> at Chase Center on April 01, 2026 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

There are three words to describe Wembanyama at this point in his career: good as advertised. And if you want to take it a step further. Then, there\u2019s \u201cbetter than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wembanyama was one of those \u201cgenerational\u201d prospects entering the NBA. Everything he did on the court left teams more willing to tank their seasons, rather than finding a way to compete. The San Antonio Spurs won the lottery and won Wembanyama\u2019s services.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s checking all boxes for the MVP race.<\/p>\n

Offensively, he\u2019s dominant. The star center has posted averages of 24.7 points and 3.0 assists. He is shooting 50.9% from the field and 35.0% from three.<\/p>\n

Defensively, he just might be the best. Wembanama is coming up with 11.5 rebounds per game, 1.0 steals per game, and leading the league with 3.1 blocks per game.<\/p>\n

Team-wise, the Spurs are top two in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n

How Close Is The Race?\"\"<\/p>\n

GettySAN ANTONIO, TEXAS \u2013 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<\/a> at Frost Bank Center on March 19, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Wembanyama seems like a guaranteed MVP finalist at this point.<\/p>\n

As far as winning the award goes, OKC\u2019s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a strong shot at being a repeat winner. Most sportsbooks have him set as the favorite. ESPN\u2019s final straw poll<\/a>, which includes many voters, revealed that Gilgeous-Alexander has plenty of support.<\/p>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander landed 88 first-place votes. Wembanyama came up with eight.<\/p>\n

In total, Wembanyama had 644 points. SGA finished with 958.<\/p>\n

The Spurs still have five games to change the state of the race. Wembanyama is expected to return to the floor on Saturday against the Sixers.<\/p>\n

More Spurs News<\/p>\n

Spurs Coach\u2019s Victor Wembanyama Injury Statement vs Clippers<\/a><\/p>\n

Spurs\u2019 Dylan Harper On Pace to Pass Lakers Legend in NBA History<\/a><\/p>\n

Spurs\u2019 Victor Wembanyama Gets Bad News on the MVP Race<\/a><\/p>\n

For the latest San Antonio Spurs news and rumors, head over to Heavy on Spurs<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tJustin Grasso<\/a> Justin Grasso is an NBA reporter, covering trending league news, transactions, injuries, and player developments. He is a credentialed journalist with nearly a decade of insider access. More about Justin Grasso<\/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 Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs reacts during the second quarter of the game against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3797],"tags":[7,6,969,474,4075,4074,534],"class_list":{"0":"post-697940","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\/116347154352489237","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697940","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=697940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}