Victor Wembanyama acknowledges his MVP aspirations, understanding team success is key. He's ready to push harder in the season's final stretch.
The NBA season is entering its final stage before the playoffs rolls around and the league's awards are handed out to some of the best players in the world.
And San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama wants to be among the guys who get an award at the end of the season. But not just any award, he's going for the big one.
In a recent interview, Wemby was asked abut where he thinks he could be in the Most Valuable Player conversation. And as many people would expect, the French superstar kept it real and was honest with his chances at the current moment.
"I know I’m in the MVP conversations. Of course, it’s one of my goals," Wembanyama said. "I think that the main argument for that is the team’s success. That’s always the first thing. I’m also conscious that I need to press the gas a little bit on the last games of the season to win that award."
The Spurs currently sit in second place in the Western Conference just two games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, and it has been due in no small part to the way the former first overall pick has been playing.
Wemby is averaging just under 24 points, 11 rebounds, and right around three blocks per game so far this season. And he is going all of that on some solid shooting percentages with 50 percent from the field and 35 percent from three.
The two current front-runners for the MVP award are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.
What else is new?
But there is something different about this season, and it's that Shai only has six games he can miss, and Jokic has one that he can miss before they are both disqualified from winning awards for not playing at least 65 games.
That means that the most likely person to stand in Wemby's way is Detroit Pistons superstar point guard, Cade Cunningham, who has only missed six games thus far.
Vic is not immune to the 65-game rule, because he can only miss three more games while still being in the running. But if can stay healthy, the Alien could have a shot at his first ever MVP.
And it could be the first of quite a few.