Victor Wembanyama’s Final Push: Can the Spurs Phenom Overtake SGA for NBA MVP?

As the 2025-26 NBA regular season enters its final stretch, the conversation surrounding the Most Valuable Player award has narrowed into a high-stakes duel between two generational talents. Victor Wembanyama, the 22-year-aged force fueling the San Antonio Spurs’ resurgence, has forced his way to the top of the NBA MVP race, challenging the consistency of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The race has become a battle of narratives: the defending champion’s stability versus a historic late-season surge. While Gilgeous-Alexander remains the statistical and polling favorite, Wembanyama’s ascent over the last two months has rewritten the expectations for what a third-year player can achieve in the league.

The Late-Season Surge in San Antonio

The momentum behind Wembanyama is not merely a product of individual brilliance, but of a collective transformation in San Antonio. Since February 1, the Spurs have been nearly unstoppable, winning 27 of their last 29 games. This dominant run has propelled the team to the NBA’s second-best record, providing the necessary team success to validate an MVP candidacy.

Wembanyama has been the catalyst for this climb. His defensive impact has reached an otherworldly level; in a three-game span ending in late March, he recorded 17 blocks. According to the Kia MVP Ladder, Wembanyama’s block averages this season are now comparable to the totals of entire teams, including the Nuggets, Bucks, and Jazz.

Standing at 7-foot-4 (or 7-foot-5, depending on the measurement), Wembanyama has combined freakish height with a skill set that analysts suggest surpasses any player over 7-foot-2 in NBA history. This two-way balance—being as disruptive on defense as he is irresistible on offense—has made him the focal point of the league’s attention.

The Polls: SGA’s Edge vs. Wemby’s Momentum

Despite the surge, the path to the trophy is not without obstacles. The most recent data suggests that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander still holds a comfortable lead. In ESPN’s third and final NBA MVP straw poll conducted between Monday and Wednesday (ending around April 3), Gilgeous-Alexander secured the top spot on 88 out of 100 ballots.

The polling breakdown highlights the gap Wembanyama must close in the final days of the season:

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 958 points (led by clutch performances for the defending champion Thunder).
• Victor Wembanyama: Trailing SGA by 300 points.
• Other Contenders: Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (who recorded a 600-point month in March) remain in the conversation, though they sit behind the primary duo.

For Wembanyama, the challenge is to overcome the “unspoken rules” that often penalize young players. At 22, he is attempting to become the first player to win the MVP in his third season since Derrick Rose did so 15 years ago.

A Recent Tier of Superstars

Regardless of who takes home the trophy, analysts agree that Wembanyama and Gilgeous-Alexander have created their own tier of impact. Wembanyama’s competitiveness has become a defining trait of his young career. In a recent interview in Sacramento, the Spurs star was blunt about his ambitions, stating “Of course” when asked if he would vote for himself for the MVP.

His influence extends beyond the box score. From taking out the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder during the NBA Cup in late December to his high-energy performance at the All-Star game in Los Angeles, Wembanyama has become the “antidote” to the league’s recent controversies surrounding gambling and salary-cap circumvention.

Note for readers: In NBA MVP voting, “value” is often split between individual statistical dominance and the ability to lift a team’s standing. Wembanyama’s role in moving San Antonio to the second-best record in the league is the strongest pillar of his case.

The Road to the Finish Line

With only a few days remaining in the regular season, the window for Wembanyama to flip the script is small but open. To erase a 300-point deficit in the voting consciousness, he will likely need to continue his defensive dominance and lead the Spurs to maintain their position at the top of the standings.

The narrative is now set: Can a 22-year-old “alien” talent disrupt the coronation of a back-to-back MVP candidate? If the Spurs continue their current trajectory, the gap between the Thunder’s guard and the Spurs’ big man may vanish before the final ballots are cast.

The next critical checkpoint will be the final games of the regular season, where every win for San Antonio and every block by Wembanyama adds weight to his historic campaign. Stay tuned for the official MVP announcement following the conclusion of the season.

Do you believe Wembanyama’s late-season surge is enough to overtake SGA? Let us know in the comments below.