The San Antonio Spurs will only have one player in the NBA All-Star Game, and Mitch Johnson used that as evidence to begin the campaign for another NBA award.
The San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics are in second place in their respective conferences, although both teams only boast a single All-Star.
The Spurs will be represented by Victor Wembanyama, and the Celtics have Jaylen Brown. Seven teams--five of them worse than San Antonio--have multiple All-Stars.
The Spurs could have had either De'Aaron Fox or Stephgon Castle get a nod to Team USA Stripes, coached by Mitch Johnson, when it was announced that Stephen Curry would be out with an injury. Instead, Brandon Ingram stepped up.
With Wemby being the only All-Star, there's a stronger case than ever that he should win MVP.
Spurs Push For Wemby to Win MVP
This season, Wembanyama is averaging 24.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks.
At the time of writing, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Cade Cunningham are all ahead of him in the MVP Ladder.
However, all four of those players have at least another All-Star on their roster. Plus, Wembanyama's team is better than the Lakers and Nuggets. If he has less help but even more team success, shouldn't he be MVP?
"I do think it's very interesting that De'Aaron Fox and Steph Castle have not been named an All-Stars," said Mitch Johnson. "I think seven teams in this league have multiple All-Stars, and we played pretty good against a lot of the top teams in this league."
Johnson laid his case for Wemby to win MVP this season.
"I think it's nothing to take away from anybody that's been named an All-Star because they've had a lot of great years," he added, "But the only way that I can think that we are deserving of one All-Star must mean there must be a lot of people that have Victor Wembanyama as one of the frontrunners for the MVP."
The same could be said for Tim Duncan. Both Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker were left off the NBA 75th anniversary team list. That means, for the vast majority of his prime, Duncan wasn't playing with top-end talent, right? And he still won five rings.
In our book, that's enough to build a GOAT case, and cements him as a top-five player to ever step on the hardwood.
Much like Duncan, Wembanyama and the rest of the Spurs are falling victim to playing in a smaller market.