Victor Wembanyama just received a massive 'next 10 years' MVP claim for this one thing

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Victor Wembanyama just received a massive 'next 10 years' MVP claim for this one thing originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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The San Antonio Spurs entered the Western Conference Finals as underdogs, and a Game 3 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder put them in a tough spot. On Sunday night, Victor Wembanyama made the most important call to keep the series alive.

Wemby led the Spurs to a 103-82 blowout win over the Thunder in Game 4, dropping a game-high 33 points to even the series at 2-2. The performance was a one-man show at the top as no other Spur even hit 20 points, with Devin Vassell, Stephon Castle, and De'Aaron Fox the only others reaching double figures. 

While Wembanyama put up an MVP-level performance against actual league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it highlights exactly why experts believe the young center will claim the award himself in the coming years.

Despite putting together one of the most complete young seasons in recent NBA history, Wembanyama didn't take home the honorable award. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the 2026 NBA MVP for the second consecutive year, dominating the voting with 83 of 100 first-place votes. Wembanyama finished third, collecting just five first-place votes behind runner-up Nikola Jokic's 10.

But the hardware gap is just a fraction of. Across the 2025-26 season, he averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocks while also winning Defensive Player of the Year. The milestone it represented made him the first unanimous DPOY winner in NBA history at just 22 years old.

Now, with the WCF tied and the league still processing what Wembanyama is doing on the defensive end, former NBA head coach Mike D’Antoni explained to ESPN why Victor Wembanyama's pick-and-roll defense is unprecedented, noting that Wemby can guard the play by staying deep in the paint and still contest the shooter. 

"We always teach to be up with the screen, but he doesn't have to be there," D'Antoni said. "He can be back and impact the shot anyway. He's the only guy who can do that. You can't teach that, and you can't get around that."

D’Antoni, who spent decades designing offenses to attack the paint, added that traditional drives to the rim do not work against Wembanyama: "If you're just going to play traditionally and try to get to the rim, you've got no chance."

He concluded by saying, "That's why he's going to be the MVP for the next ten years."

ESPN's reporting supports this overwhelming narrative. He led the league in blocks for the third consecutive season and set an NBA playoff record with 12 blocks in a single game against Minnesota. 

While SGA won the MVP award this year behind Oklahoma City’s 64-win season, Wembanyama's defensive dominance is already shifting the future MVP conversation. Mike D'Antoni is just one of many coaches anticipating that change.

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