The regular season is slowly entering its final stages, which means NBA award season is on the horizon.
One player who recently has gained MVP buzz is San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, who, if he claims the honor, would be the youngest winner in league history.
That said, the 22-year-old has more or less been “chilling” offensively during the last eight games in which the Spurs have gone 7-1. He hasn’t struggled but rather taken a backseat to the collective play of the team, which has resulted in a line of 18.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 4 assists per game during that stretch.
Those are good numbers to be sure, but they likely fall short of usual MVP standards, although Wembanyama has a prime opportunity to bolster his case against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night.
However, the 7-foot-5 behemoth shouldn’t be evaluated on just the raw scoring, given that he is indeed the league’s best defensive player.
In those eight games in which he’s averaging 29.8 minutes, he’s swatted 34 shots, swiped 10 steals and deterred tons drives from players who’ve seen him and decided, “Nah, not today.”
(In fairness, guys, we get it. No shame in not attacking the rim when Wemby’s hanging around.)
Collecting 44 stocks (steals + blocks) in just 238 minutes is absurd. Add in the fact that he’s also pulled in 76 defensive rebounds during that time (9.5 per game), and he’s also finishing defensive possessions.
So, given his defensive prowess, how much should Wembanyama’s defense factor into a possible MVP candidacy?
If he were just a pedestrian scorer who didn’t average over 20 points per game, it’d be reasonable to make the argument that Wembanyama’s elite defense wouldn’t be enough of a factor to swing the vote in his favor.
But seeing as he — on the season — is putting up 23.4 points in just 29 minutes of play (29 points when adjusted to per-36 minutes), it’s fairly difficult to ignore Wembanyama as an offensive threat.
The balance that exists in his game, in which he can apply himself on both ends of the floor and be among the best on the offensive side and the indisputable best on the defensive side, gives him a real shot at MVP, even if his offensive production has been more nuanced of late.
Of course, voters could pivot to someone else, and that’s fair. If Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or, more importantly, Nikola Jokić makes it through the games-played criteria, both should be higher on the list.
That said, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to argue against Wembanyama receiving some kind of hardware this season.
The Defensive Player of the Year award, assuming Wembanyama makes the games-played criteria, should be on absolute lock at this point.
What’s even more ridiculous is that it’s been a long time coming. He’s been the best defensive player in the league since making his NBA debut, and it’s reaching the point where it’s preposterous to suggest otherwise.
As such, whether it’s the MVP or DPOY, all eyes should be on the Frenchman as he wraps up the third season of his career.
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