標籤: gas

Victor Wembanyama has a chance to become the NBA’s youngest-ever MVP during his third season. While he feels the success of the San Antonio Spurs is his strongest argument, he knows he must step up his individual performance to differentiate himself.

“I know I’m in the MVP conversation. Of course, that’s one of my goals,” Wembanyama said after Thursday’s win over the Brooklyn Nets. “I think the main argument for this is the team’s success. That’s always the first thing. But I also know that I need to push a little harder during the last part of the season to win awards.”

Wembanyama’s two-way play has led San Antonio to the NBA’s third-best record (43–16), just 1.5 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top spot. The Spurs are on an NBA-best 11-game winning streak in February.

Victor Wembanyama is making an MVP case as he leads the Spurs’ rise in the NBA standings

Wembyanyama is averaging 23.7 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists on .501/.347/.815 shooting splits in 45 appearances. He and Nikola Jokic are the only NBA players to average marks on such efficiency.

Meanwhile, Wembanyama has solidified himself as the NBA’s top point guard while anchoring a San Antonio unit that ranks third in the NBA. The 22-year-old leads the league with 3.8 steals (steals + blocks) per game, which is 0.8 ahead of the next highest player (Scotty Barnes: 3.0). According to CleaningTheGlass, he has posted a -10.6 defensive rating swing (team points allowed per 100 possessions with a player on versus off), the league’s second-highest mark, trailing only Rudy Gobert (-12.7).

Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said there was no doubt that Wambanyama had an MVP-level impact.

“He is a great facilitator to help his team win [as anybody],” Johnson said. ”The individual stuff that is identified as the best or most valuable is offense, defense, boards and everything that falls in between. He is at the forefront for [each of] They. And there are other guys in the league who do that, too. I haven’t delved into it, but I definitely think it’s in the conversation. It would be difficult for anyone to make a logical argument as to why he is not in that conversation.”

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Wembanyama currently has the fourth-best MVP odds at +2500, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (-250), Nikola Jokic (+400) and Cade Cunningham (+850). The French superstar can only miss three more games to maintain his eligibility for the award.