Inside The Spurs

Locked On Spurs: Should Victor Wembanyama Be Included in MVP Race?

The San Antonio Spurs are clearly ahead of where they were a season ago thanks to stellar play from Victor Wembanyama. Despite being outside the top five in the West, however, is the Frenchman rightfully in the MVP race?

Matt Guzman

Jan 6, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at United Center.
Jan 6, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at United Center. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
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SAN ANTONIO — As another stellar season for Victor Wembanyama continues, the San Antonio Spurs are reaping the benefits much more than they were a year ago.

Through 36 games, the Silver & Black sit right at .500 — already four wins away from matching their win total from last season — and the newly-minted 21-year-old is a big reason why. So far, he's made 31 appearances and averaged 25.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and four blocks.

While the discourse at the beginning of the season centered around the idea of Wembanyama earning the NBA's Most Improved Player Award or the Defensive Player of the Year Award, there's another category where the center has begun to make a case.

Hint: It's the one Spurs fans chant every time he's at the free throw line.

In the NBA's most recent MVP ladder, Wembanyama scratched the top five. In front of him is Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Boston Celtics front man Jayson Tatum, Milwaukee Bucks monster Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Denver Nuggets' own Nikola Jokić — who Wembanyama just finished dueling in back-to-back contests.

READ MORE: Battles with Jokić Offer Lessons for Victor Wembanyama

As the season goes on, team success will become increasingly important for all of the above players, and as it stands, only the Spurs are outside of their conference's top five in seeding. Then again, perhaps that says enough already about Wembanyama's ceiling and overall performance.

Check out the latest episode of Locked On Spurs with KENS5 beat reporter Jeff Garcia and San Antonio Spurs On SI's Matt Guzman to dive deeper into whether or not the Frenchman may or may not be rightfully in the mix for the most prestigious award of the year in just his second season:

San Antonio Spurs On Sports Illustrated

Evaluating Western Conference as Spurs Battle for Position

Spurs Take a Leap in First Power Rankings of 2025

Battles with Jokić Offer Lessons for Victor Wembanyama

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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