Victor Wembanyama has admitted he is chasing the NBA MVP award after another strong night for the San Antonio Spurs.
The 21-year-old delivered 41 points and 18 rebounds in a comfortable win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, extending an impressive run of form for both player and team.
Speaking after the game, Wembanyama admitted his ambition is to compete for the league’s top individual honour.
“I do care deeply about it,” he said. “I think that of the greats that are in the Hall of Fame – or the best of all time – they have fought and grabbed everything they could grab early on in their career. If I want to make my spot among the greats, I got to try to not miss any occasion to put my name up there.”
San Antonio are one of the form teams in the league, winning 10 straight games and 15 consecutive matches with Wembanyama in the line-up. During that stretch, he has averaged close to 28 points and over 12 rebounds per game.
His recent rebounding streak has also placed him in elite company, surpassing previous Spurs greats such as Tim Duncan and David Robinson, while drawing comparisons to Dennis Rodman.
“Wow,” Wembanyama said. “I watched a lot of highlights [of Rodman], mostly on the Bulls than anything else. They don’t make them like [him] anymore.”
The Spurs’ surge has also put pressure on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the race for the top seed, with the gap narrowing heading into the final stretch of the season.
Wembanyama’s main rival for MVP remains Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who continues to post elite scoring numbers as Oklahoma City maintain their own strong run.
Even if the MVP award is out of sight, Wembanyama is widely expected to claim Defensive Player of the Year. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was full of praise for his development.
“He’s got unbelievable confidence now,” Kerr said. “He looks like he knows exactly what to do on both ends. His first couple years, he looked young at times. He doesn’t look young anymore. He just looks like he knows exactly what he’s doing. Dominated the glass. There’s plays you can’t do anything. Several lobs where it looked like a Nerf hoop. He’s brilliant.”
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