OKC Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may be the reigning MVP and the current favorite to run it back, but Spurs wunderkind Victor Wembanyama is now starting to make his case for why he believes he's most deserving of taking home the Michael Jordan Trophy himself.
As a result, it seems the point guard has officially lost the backing of one prominent voter.
During a Tuesday edition of First Take, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith revealed that Wemby has "done changed my mind" about who he is leaning toward voting for in the MVP race, citing the big man's defensive excellence coupled with the fact that San Antonio has "dominated" Oklahoma City in their head-to-head bouts this season as the primary catalysts for why.
While admitting that he's already locked in on voting Wembanyama for Defensive Player of the Year over the current second-ranked candidate, Chet Holmgren, Smith is now making it abundantly clear that he's growing increasingly fond of bypassing yet another Thunder star when it comes to his say in determining who deserves the biggest regular-season honor.
Victor Wembanyama gaining support in MVP race against Thunder star
Here in his third season in the association, Wembanyama is an established All-Star who has his Spurs placed second in the Western Conference standings, behind the Thunder, with a record of 54-18.
Of course, considering they are only three games back and own the tie-breaker after going 4-1 in their five-game series this year, there's still technically a chance San Antonio can usurp Oklahoma City for the top spot over their final 10 games of the year.
Though it may be tough for Thunder fans to accept, with a healthy Wembanyama on their side, the surging Spurs certainly have a realistic chance of doing so should OKC slip, even slightly, with their incredibly tough remaining strength of schedule.
Through 57 games played, the pivot is posting phenomenal averages of 24.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and a league-leading 3.0 blocks while shooting 50.4 percent from the floor and 35.1 percent from deep.
On top of this, he ranks first in the association in net rating (16.6) and third in defensive rating (103.5) among those who have played over 50 games this year.
While Gilgeous-Alexander is still viewed as the favorite to earn MVP honors, with only a couple of weeks remaining, it's clear that the road for him to become the 14 back-to-back recipient of the award will be far from smooth.
Stephen A., a voter himself, has made this abundantly clear with his latest take on Wembanyama.