This article was originally published on April 16, 2026. – Victor Wembanyama concluded his third NBA season with impressive statistics. Already voted best defender of the year, he is also one of the favorites for the best player of the season (MVP) trophy. His San Antonio Spurs team, qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2018, is a candidate for the title.

Published on: 04/16/2026 - 07:23 Modified on: 04/21/2026 - 17:09

The suspense lasted until the end, but Victor Wembanyama reached the threshold of 65 matches played in the NBA in 2025/2026, on April 10, during the penultimate meeting of the San Antonio Spurs in the regular season.

Candidate to join the NBA All-NBA First Team and the NBA All-Defensive Team, for his third season in the North American basketball league, the 2.24 m French pivot is also eligible for individual awards, awarded in May.

After missing 12 matches in the fall due to a strained left calf, Victor Wembanyama no longer had many wildcards in his pocket, but he managed to reach the necessary 65 matches (out of the 82 for the season, excluding the playoffs) to be eligible. Already unanimously elected best defender of the year, he is also among the favorites for the MVP trophy (“Most Valuable Player” or best player) of the season. The NBA also announced on Sunday April 19 that he was one of the three finalists for these two trophies.

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With 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 blocks in 29.2 minutes on average per game, Victor Wembanyama took the Spurs to the top, finishing the season with a record of 62 wins for 20 losses and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2019. No observer had placed the Spurs so high at the start of the season. The last time the Texas franchise surpassed the 60-win mark in a season was in 2017, when Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard were still part of the team. Such a journey makes the Spurs a logical candidate for the title of NBA champion.

“He became nasty”

Beyond the collective success, Victor Wembanyama has established himself this year as one of the superstars of the NBA, after a first season of ups and downs and a second ended prematurely due to his venous thrombosis in the shoulder detected in February 2025.

“His season is exceptional and he is clearly one of the candidates for the title of MVP,” Kevin Séraphin, former NBA pivot, now a consultant on Prime Video, which broadcasts the NBA in France with beIN Sports, told France 24.

"He has really reached a milestone by becoming the leader of his team and realizing that he can be unstoppable, continues the former Blue. During his first two seasons, he sometimes had a tendency to want to shoot three-pointers too much or to get around defenders. Now, he alternates very well between inside and outside play and, above all, he has become 'mean'. He is no longer afraid of coming into contact with his opponents and dunking on them. The action on Draymond Green illustrates it well: it’s a message he sent to the entire league that day.”

On November 14, the San Antonio Spurs play against the Golden State Warriors. Faithful lieutenant of legendary three-point shooter Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, who is known for talking a lot to his opponents, provoking them and playing very physical against them, defends on Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs play a throw-in under the opposing basket. The pass is thrown towards the basket and the Frenchman catches it in the air to crush a dunk on the head from the inside of the Warriors, before coming to stick to him and talking to him eye to eye.

Other highlights marked his season. “Wemby” has exceeded the 40-point mark five times, including three times in its last five matches and in just 26 minutes of play (out of 48 possible) during its last outing, on April 10, against the Dallas Mavericks. He achieved a triple-double (three statistical categories reaching ten) on November 12 by finishing the game against the Golden State Warriors – them again! – with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. And narrowly missed another triple-double on October 24 with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 9 blocks against the New Orleans Pelicans. He also scored a game-winning basket at the buzzer on March 19 against the Phoenix Suns.

Importance of its defensive impact

"Beyond what he does in attack, it is in defense that he impresses the most. His impact is incredible, he destabilizes the entire attack of the opposing teams. We see players enter the racket and turn around when they realize that Victor is in their way. It's the NBA, but we sometimes have the impression that they are amateurs facing him because he is so dominant", jokes Kevin Séraphin.

Victor Wembanyama notably became this year the third player in NBA history, after Dikembe Mutombo and Marcus Camby, to finish as the league's best blocker for three consecutive seasons. Unsurprisingly, the trophy for best defender of the season was awarded to him on Monday April 20.

It is also this aspect of his game that the 22-year-old Frenchman highlighted when a journalist asked him on March 23 why he thought he was a candidate for the MVP title. “Defense represents 50% of the game, it is quite underestimated in the race for the MVP and I think I am the player with the most impact in defense,” he replied, pleading his case to the journalists – it is a panel of American and international journalists who vote for the trophy for best player of the season.

A way of campaigning which has also repositioned him favorably in the debate since his comments on the importance of defense provoked a lot of reaction from NBA players and observers.

“His response caused a lot of discussion, but it shows that he perfectly understood how Americans work, who like people who have confidence in them. In any case, he was right to emphasize an aspect of the game that people tend not to look at or forget,” said Kevin Séraphin.

Victor Wembanyama, however, has two serious competitors facing him. The Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, already MVP in 2025, seems favorite to keep his trophy. The star of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the reigning champion team which has just finished the season with the best record in the league (64 wins for 18 losses), finished the exercise with 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists on average per game. The Serbian Nikola Jokic, for his part, achieved the feat of concluding a second consecutive season with a triple-double average with 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game. The Denver Nuggets star, elected MVP in 2021, 2022 and 2024, also became the first player in NBA history to be both the best rebounder and the best passer in the league.

While waiting to know if he becomes the youngest MVP in history within a month, Victor Wembanyama first discovers the NBA playoffs, where the intensity of the matches and the atmosphere in the rooms are incomparable to the regular season. For their first game of their first round series against the Portland TrailBlazers, the San Antonio Spurs won Sunday evening 111-98. Victor Wembanyama finished the game with 35 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in 33 minutes.

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