Victor Wembanyama is making life miserable for the rest of the MVP field.
A year ago, the Spurs star finished third in MVP voting behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, and the feeling then was pretty simple: his two-way brilliance still didn’t quite match the offensive fireworks those two were putting up. That argument is getting harder to sell now. Wembanyama has added a serious scoring jump to the defense that already made him a nightmare, and the result is a player who looks even more dangerous than before.
The latest example came against the Phoenix Suns, and it was a wrecking ball of a performance. Wembanyama poured in 40 points on 15-for-19 shooting, knocked down two of his three three-point attempts, blocked nine shots, grabbed 11 rebounds and finished at +30.
He did all of that in just over 25 minutes. That’s not just a big night.
That’s one of the best all-around games of the 2026-27 season so far.
What’s changed most is how he’s scoring. When the Spurs left the New York Knicks’ championship celebration on June 13, it was obvious Wembanyama still had room to grow as an offensive force.
Mike Brown’s defense had forced him into jump shots in that series, and that cramped his impact. Some of that carried into this season, but over the last few games he’s started to sort it out.
His shot selection has looked much cleaner, with the long-range stuff now paired with real damage at the rim. Against the Suns, that meant a steady stream of drives, rolls, dunks and layups that kept Phoenix on its heels.
He wasn’t just floating around the perimeter waiting for looks. He was getting downhill and finishing with force.
That pressure is also sending him to the line. Defending a 7'4" athlete like this is already a brutal assignment, and for some teams, fouling him almost feels like the only option left. Over his last four games, Wembanyama has attempted 51 free throws and hit 80% of them.
That’s the version the Spurs want. He can still stretch the floor, and he’s shown he can make those shots, but the real problem for opponents is when he keeps attacking the paint. That’s when San Antonio’s offense starts to feel overwhelming.
And the numbers over his last four games back that up. Wembanyama is averaging 37.8 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks while shooting 64.1% from the field and 43.5% from three. It’s the kind of stat line that sounds made up until you realize it’s real.
At this point, his case is about more than just being an elite young shot-blocker who scores 25 a night. He’s become a high-end scorer and, somehow, an even more intimidating defender than he was last season. That combination is what’s making his MVP case so difficult for anyone else to beat.
In Other News...
Wembanyama Just Gave Spurs Fans Another Unreal Moment To Debate
Victor Wembanyama keeps finding new ways to make the ordinary look absurd, and his latest highlight came in the third quarter against the Bulls. The Spurs big man launched into a two-hand dunk from the free-throw line, the kind of play that instantly turns a regular night into another entry in the growing Wembanyama highlight reel.
It also came in the middle of a game where he was already stuffing the stat sheet, with San Antonio ahead in the fourth quarter and Wembanyama sitting on 32 points, eight rebounds, two steals and four blocks. Given the way he has been playing all season, with elite production on both ends and a shooting touch to match, the only real debate left is how many more moments like this he can still create before the league runs out of ways to react. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Have A DeAaron Fox Problem They Cant Ignore
DeAaron Fox has been one of the Spurs most important creators since arriving from Sacramento, and the ball is in his hands more often than ever. He still leads San Antonio in assists, which speaks to how much the offense has leaned on him to organize possessions and get others involved, but the scoring punch that once made him such a difficult cover has not traveled with him.
Fox is averaging 13.9 points per game this season, a steep drop from the level he showed when the Spurs acquired him. The bigger concern is not just the number itself, but the way it has come about: he looks less aggressive hunting his own shot, and that shift has put his offensive role under the microscope while also raising questions about how the league will view his trade value if this version of him sticks around. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Hot Start Still Leaves One Big Tobias Harris Question
Nine straight wins have given the Spurs plenty to like early, but the one major piece they have not yet been able to factor in is Tobias Harris. His absence has left San Antonio to keep sorting through a rotation that is already working, even as the veteran forwards expected return looms as a potential boost in size and shooting.
Harris is the kind of addition that can change the shape of a lineup without forcing the Spurs to tear up what has gotten them off to such a strong start. The open question is where he fits once he is available, since his role could be determined by the coachs decisions and could land anywhere from the starting five to a more defined bench role. [Read more 🡒]