Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama moves into second place in NBA MVP rankings, closing in on SGA originally appeared on The Sporting News. Click here to add Sports News as your go-to source.
Many have narrowed the NBA MVP conversation to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. The two men have been neck and neck in the competition for months. However, many did not expect Victor Wembanyama to join the fight so early. The San Antonio Spurs superstar has done enough to get his name among them and steal the youngest MVP crown from Derrick Rose in a very real way.
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Wimby surpasses Jokic and approaches SGA NBA MVP ladder
After roughly 67 games in the league, Gilgeous-Alexander remains in the MVP race, according to NBA.com.
The Thunder superstar proved he’s more than worthy of another trophy after leading the team to a league-best 52-15 record. Not to mention, he just broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record for the most consecutive games with more than 20 points, while averaging a crazy 31.7 points and 6.6 assists per game. Although there is still a lot of work to be done, the Spurs star has been in excellent form recently.
Wembunyama moved up to second place on the NBA MVP standings despite ranking fourth this past week. He replaced the likes of Jokic and Cade Cunningham to earn the spot. Spurs have won eight of their last 10 games, all because of Wembanyama. This is largely because he averaged 24.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. Despite being in just his third year in the NBA, he has already led the Spurs to the second-best record in the league with a 48-18 record.
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In fact, when summer comes, the Spurs superstar could win a trophy with the Defensive Player of the Year. He just needs to stay healthy, and missing the Nuggets game with a sprained ankle is not a good sign. If Wembanyama succeeds, he will become the youngest NBA MVP. Notably, Rose was officially named the 2011 trophy winner, 211 days shy of his 22nd birthday. When June 1 rolls around, Wembanyama will be at most 148 days away from his 22nd birthday – the usual time frame for announcing a winner.
The Spurs are just 3.5 games away from setting a league-leading record. If they do that and Wimby stays healthy for minimal playing time, he will be crowned NBA MVP.