Devastating flaw in media's anti-Wembanyama MVP argument exposed

Giannis Antetokounmpo won MVP in 2019–20 while playing just 30.4 minutes per game—and only 63 total games. To NBA writer Frank Urbina's credit, his HoopsHype piece does point out the former. But it doesn’t go far enough because if we’re going to open that door, we have to walk all the way through it.

Today, Victor Wembanyama’s total minutes are being used against him, yet that same standard wasn’t applied then. Giannis ranked 67th in total minutes played that season, logging fewer than players like Marcus Smart and Kelly Oubre Jr.—these guys only appeared in 57 and 56 games that year. That didn't hurt the Greek Freak because his impact was undeniable and his team succeeded.

LeBron James received just 16 first-place votes despite playing 67 games at 34.3 minutes per night, averaging 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists while leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the No. 1 seed in the West. James Harden played 68 games at 36.5 minutes, putting up 34 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals on a fourth-seeded team. He didn’t receive a single first-place vote.

The minutes argument collapses under its own history

There isn’t another player in the league generating more value per minute than Wembanyama, and the on-court data reflects that.

His counting stats are being used against him, but while they’re part of the story, they are far from the whole picture. "MVP" stands for "most valuable player." The voters are supposed to understand that distinction.

Nikola Jokic is an incredible talent who has redefined playmaking from the center position. However, assist numbers are not historically how bigs have been evaluated, and it’s not a requirement for value, so I'm going to need to stop seeing "he's only averaging 3 assists" be used like it's a real knock. It's not.

Penalizing Wemby for not dishing the ball like he's supposed to be Magic Johnson would be like criticizing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for not averaging double-digit rebounds just because Russell Westbrook "normalized" triple-doubles at the guard position. Let's be reasonable here.

Look at the lineup data. Nearly every player on the Spurs becomes more efficient when sharing the floor with Victor. That’s tangible, scalable impact that directly contributes to points and winning, even if it doesn’t show up in the box score.

Choosing between Wemby and SGA shouldn't be easy

The details matter. Wemby consistently keeps the ball in play after blocks, igniting fast breaks instead of giving possessions away. He wards off would-be drivers, forcing them to reconsider their plan of attack entirely and most of the time deciding against attempting a shot at all. Those are skills.

Those things won’t show up in traditional metrics, but they create opportunities for his teammates to be effective. Add in the fact that he’s arguably the most dangerous lob threat we’ve ever seen, and you get a level of off-ball gravity comparable to Stephen Curry. Defenses have to account for him at all times.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is phenomenal, but he's an elite on-ball engine. The Alien doesn’t need touches to bend a defense or elevate his teammates.

And the numbers reinforce it. Victor Wembanyama has posted a +630 plus-minus in 60 games across 1,724.7 minutes. Gilgeous-Alexander sits at +677 in 63 games and 2,106.7 minutes. When you normalize that production, Vic is generating roughly 13 percent more impact per minute. Value is impact per possession, not just time accumulated.

These are the top two players in plus-minus, so this isn’t about diminishing one to elevate the other. It’s about consistency in how value is evaluated. If anything, the minutes argument should strengthen Wembanyama’s case, not weaken it. Pretending it’s a flaw—less than a decade after Giannis received 85 first-place votes under similar circumstances—is wrong and hypocritical.

Besides, did you see what he just did in 30 minutes and 30 seconds of action? You really think the league wants more of that? Playing him 29 minutes a night is mercy. Be thankful.