Getty
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - MARCH 19: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs is surrounded by teammates after he scored the game-winning basket against the Phoenix Suns at Frost Bank Center on March 19, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas.
Victor Wembanyama is quickly proving himself to be one of the best players in the NBA, as seen in the San Antonio Spurs‘ playoff run, who are now set to play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
Wembanyama is just in his third NBA season, but after helping the Spurs to the second-best record in the regular season and winning the 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year award, his case for being one of the best players in the league is growing quickly.
Now, in the conference finals against the Thunder, Wembanyama has the chance to go toe-to-toe with arguably the best player in the NBA in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But while he doesn’t have the accolades that rival Oklahoma City’s star guard just yet, there’s a chance for the French center already to be the best player in the series.
GettyMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – MAY 15: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots a free throw during the third quarter of a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game Six of the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Target Center on May 15, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
According to John Hollinger of The Athletic, many around the NBA believe the 22-year-old Wembanyama is already one of, if not the best, player in the league.
“He’s the best player I’ve ever seen,” one veteran executive said to Hollinger after being asked if Wembanyama is the best player in the NBA.
The young center’s impact on defense is impossible to ignore, as seen by him being named the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year in the modern era of the league. He led the league in blocks, and on every single possession, changes what opposing offenses want, and are able to do.
“Victor Wembanyama is the most impactful defensive player I have ever seen in this league,” ex-coach and current broadcaster Stan Van Gundy said.
“Wemby is probably the greatest defender I ever played against,” Jaden McDaniels of the Minnesota Timberwolves said. “Him being so tall and so long, it was hard to get to the rim. … I was able to get to my spots, but playing Wemby, he’s huge. He’s so tall. He’s the greatest defender I ever played against.”
Hollinger said that during the 2026 NBA Combine, he talked to people around the league, asking if Wembanyama could be considered as a better player right now than both Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, the two who have battled back and forth for the MVP award over the past three seasons. ‘I was met with chortles and nods,’ he wrote, hinting that Wembanyama holds the crown despite still being so early in his career, a mark that is also backed up by the numbers.
“From Feb. 1 to the end of the season, the Spurs went 28-2 when Wembanyama played and posted a plus-23.4 net rating, the best mark in the league by a wide margin,” he added. “In that same stretch, the Spurs were just plus-0.7 with Wemby off the court, a 22.7-points-per-100-possessions difference that would make even longtime Denver Nuggets fans raise a surprised eyebrow.”
Many around the league believe Victor Wembanyama has already surpassed Nikola Jokić and back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the league’s best player, per @johnhollinger
“One of my missions at the NBA Draft Combine was to ask execs from the other 29 teams if they thought
Wembanyama averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 3.1 blocks per game in the regular season, which landed him third in the MVP voting. Through 10 playoff games, a few of which he left early due to injury or ejection, he is putting up 20.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 4.1 blocks. A bit down from the regular season, but enough to make those around the NBA believe he’s making a strong enough case to be the best player in the NBA.
GettyOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA – JANUARY 13: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder blocks a shot attempt by Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs during the second half at Paycom Center on January 13, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The Spurs vs Thunder series matchup will feature Wembanyama and Gilgeous-Alexander, two shoo-ins for First-Team All-NBA and two of the top three MVP candidates this season. San Antonio had a 4-1 record over Oklahoma City in the regular season and is likely going to offer the best fight the defending champions have seen in the 2026 playoffs.
However, despite being led by Wembanyama and already with a strong record over the Thunder this year, the Spurs are underdogs in the conference finals and will need to put together multiple strong performances to beat a Thunder team that hasn’t lost a playoff game this year and hasn’t lost a series since 2024.
“This is a chess match,” a West scout said to ESPN. “Oklahoma City does the best job of highlighting a player’s limitations. They make any player uncomfortable. They will make San Antonio uncomfortable.”
Wembanyama has put up strong averages against the Thunder during the regular season, but the playoffs are a different battle, especially when going up against one of the best rosters in recent NBA history.
“No matter what your roster is, you have to take care of the ball [against OKC], because if you don’t, it’s automatic points,” an assistant coach said to ESPN. “If the Spurs can set their defense with the personnel and coaching they have, they can guard OKC. But they can’t guard them if they are turning the ball over. That’s a huge piece of the puzzle, and that’s the first thing I’m looking for.”
Despite their strong recent history and having one of the best players in the NBA in Wembanyama, the Spurs face an uphill battle against Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending champion Thunder.
However, if the Wembanyama-led San Antonio team can upset Oklahoma City, as has been the case in the NBA recently, the French center could very well cement himself as the best player in the league, but it won’t come easily.
Spurs vs Thunder Game 1 tips off at 8:30 pm EST on Monday, May 18, and will be live on NBC and Peacock.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。
