Sacramento (United States) (AFP) – Victor Wembanyama is hungry for trophies. And if basketball is a team sport, it demonstrates on the floor that that of the best NBA player is within reach, even though the season has only just begun.

Published on: 09/11/2026 - 10:48

“It’s always in the back of my mind,” assured the Frenchman on Friday in response to a question from AFP, after a comfortable victory in Sacramento, where he scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

Two days earlier, he was monstrous on the floor and beat his personal record for points against Dallas: 52, to which were added 24 rebounds. And this despite a three-point skill deficit (1 basket out of 8 attempts).

And on Saturday, he won again with disconcerting ease, and planted 29 pawns against Portland to snatch his eighth victory in a row with the Spurs.

His defensive contribution is immense, using his 2.24 meters at will to counter his opponents and take rebounds under the basket.

Voted best defender in the NBA last season, Wemby is also San Antonio's offensive leader and can do everything: shoot behind the arc, dunk, alley-oop, double-step...

So many arguments to win the title of MVP, chosen during the play-offs by a panel of 100 journalists and sports commentators.

“Let him play as he should”

But if, after ten matches, the tricolor displays an average of 29.1 points and 12 rebounds, he will have to demonstrate consistency to win the ultimate individual reward.

Last year, he finished third in the rankings, behind two-time winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.

For this 2026-2027 fiscal year, “I have not set myself the goal of Victor winning the MVP title,” said his coach Mitch Johnson after the 124-109 victory against the Sacramento Kings.

“I expect Victor to play the right way,” he explains. “I think he has a huge impact when it comes to putting the opposing defense in difficulty with his constant pressure on the basket, his races. And inevitably, that will generate points.”

But Wembanyama "revealed himself in a very short time during his career", underlines the coach, who prefers to concentrate on the "progress that remains to be made".

“When he masters certain elements – whether it's the way he is marked by opponents, the actions we want to put in place or the combinations with his teammates – then he can become very dominant. And if he continues (...), then whatever the objectives are, he can achieve them,” adds Mitch Johnson, who took over from the iconic Gregg Popovich at the helm of San Antonio in May 2025.

SGA, Jokic, Doncic in the running

In 2025-2026, Wembanyama had a great second half of the season, taking the Spurs to the NBA final, after a mixed start, including a calf injury.

This year, the 22-year-old wants to respect the passing times from the start.

His record match in Dallas proves it: he became the second player in history with at least 50 points, 20 rebounds and 8 blocks in a game, after the legendary pivot Wilt Chamberlain, who achieved the performance five times between 1960 and 1967.

Victor Wembanyama "transmits his energy to us (...). He shows leadership in several ways and he shows that he does not only think of himself. He also devotes himself to all of us", applauds his young teammate Dylan Harper.

To become MVP, the Canadian Gilgeous-Alexander, champion in 2025 with Oklahoma, remains a tough opponent, with an average of 29.9 points and 39.1% three-point success at the start of the season, when Wembanyama is at 30.6%.

The captain of the Blues will also have to do better than the Serbian Jokic, already a triple MVP (2021, 2022, 2024), and who accumulates 22.9 pts and 9.1 rebounds with the Denver Nuggets, as well as the Slovenian Luka Doncic who is having a stratospheric start to the year with the Lakers (40.1 points on average, 7.8 rebounds).

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© 2026 AFP

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