Victor Wembanyama’s case for being the best player in the world is getting harder to ignore, and Luka Doncic’s scoring binge still doesn’t quite touch it.
Even after an ugly season opener, Wembanyama has been the NBA’s top performer this season. That isn’t just a hot take dressed up as analysis; the advanced numbers back it up. In box plus/minus per 100 possessions, Wembanyama sits at 14.3, just ahead of Stephen Curry at 14.2 and Luka Doncic at 12.3.
Curry’s presence in that group is eye-catching on its own, especially this deep into his career. The Warriors are 7-3 and off to a real start, but the focus here stays on the two players who feel like the clearest MVP conversation: Wembanyama and Doncic. Curry’s pace is unlikely to hold all season, and by the end of the year Golden State may not have the record to keep him in the true MVP mix anyway.
What makes Wembanyama’s case so overwhelming is that it isn’t built on offense alone. Defense matters here, and it matters a lot.
Spurs fans have lived with that reality for years, and Wembanyama is taking it to another level. Four blocks a game is outrageous by itself, but his impact goes beyond the box score.
He can wipe out entire actions just by being on the floor, forcing opponents to change what they want to do.
And then there’s the offense. San Antonio’s French centerpiece is also one of the league’s most devastating scoring threats.
Last season, gravity was part of the conversation around his MVP case, but the counting numbers weren’t there. This year they are.
He’s averaging 29 points and piling up 40- and 50-point nights.
Luka’s production is absurd, too. He’s putting up 40 points per game with 49.8% shooting from the field and 41.9% from 3-point range, while adding eight assists and eight rebounds.
If he keeps that pace, it would be the strongest MVP case of his career. But even that may not be enough if Wembanyama keeps playing at this level.
The workload gap is worth noting as well. Wembanyama is doing it in 30.3 minutes a night, and the Spurs are winning big behind him, owning the second-largest average margin of victory at 10.3. Doncic is playing 36 minutes per game while driving the Lakers to a 7.5-point average margin.
That’s the difference right now: Wembanyama is elite on both sides, while Doncic is doing his damage on one. The deeper metrics suggest Wembanyama’s offensive value is not far behind Doncic’s, and on defense he leaves him far behind.
This is the season people have been waiting for. Wembanyama is the promised prince, and he’s delivering on the hype in full. At 22, he’s playing like the best player in the league, and once that title is his, it may be nearly impossible to pry it away.
In Other News...
Spurs Blowouts Are Hiding Just How Far Wembanyama Could Go
Victor Wembanyama keeps flashing the kind of ceiling that makes it easy to forget how early this still is for him. Even with the Spurs rolling through a string of lopsided wins, he has still stacked up eye-catching production on a per-minute basis, including stretches that hint at a far bigger statistical load if the games stayed competitive longer.
The blowouts have also meant San Antonio has not needed to lean on him for full workloads, which is part of why his raw totals still feel like a preview rather than the finished product. When he has been on the floor, the numbers have been loud enough to turn heads, and the real question now is how much more there is once the Spurs start asking him to carry those minutes in tighter games. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Is Making The Spurs Look Like A Real Problem
The Spurs are starting to look less like a nice early-season story and more like a team opponents have to plan around. San Antonio stretched its winning streak to nine games with a 122-96 road win over Phoenix, and Victor Wembanyama was the center of everything, piling up 40 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots while controlling the game at both ends.
Phoenix had Devin Booker in attack mode with 32 points, but the Suns never found enough help or enough answers around the basket. For San Antonio, the bigger takeaway is how complete this run has become, with Wembanyama anchoring a team that is winning away from home and making the rest of the West take notice. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Just Gave Spurs Fans Another Reason To Believe
Victor Wembanyama keeps giving the Spurs reasons to think this fast start is more than a hot stretch. On Nov. 9, San Antonio rolled past Phoenix 122-96 to run its winning streak to eight games, and the rookie center was at the center of it again, pouring in 40 points on 15-of-19 shooting while adding 11 rebounds. The Spurs controlled the glass and the paint, pairing Wembanyamas efficiency with a defensive edge that has become part of their identity during this surge.
Devin Bookers 32 points kept the Suns from disappearing entirely, but Phoenix never matched San Antonios energy or physicality and dropped to 3-6. For the Spurs, the bigger picture is hard to ignore: they are 9-2 and winning in ways that suggest this start is built on more than one standout night. The next question is how long this can last once the schedule tightens and the league keeps adjusting to Wembanyamas presence. [Read more 🡒]