Hypocritical bias is ruining what should be a perfect award season for Wembanyama

It's funny how fast a narrative can change when critics realize they don't like the direction the story is headed. Everyone showered Victor Wembanyama with praise after every high-level performance in reduced minutes, remember? NBA and ESPN social media accounts would make these grandiose graphics, portraying a flexing, roaring Wemby while flaunting his extravagant numbers. Exhibit A:

At the time, they seemed to understand that the Alien didn't need to play 35 minutes a night because the damage he did during his time on the floor was significant enough. All fans heard was how impressive it was that he was putting up unbelievable stat lines so quick. Some of them were record-breaking. This is a guy who scored 50 points in 26 minutes, for God's sake.

Then we approached the end of the season, and the MVP conversations picked up. All of a sudden, what was once appreciated and lauded is being used against Wembanyama. That's not right.

Wemby continues to suffer from the NBA's inability to quantify his talent

I'm not going to go down the list of reasons why I believe #1 deserves the MVP trophy. I've done it plenty by now. I'm just here to speak on the NBA's continued undervaluing of this man's career. Some of it is due to circumstance and timing, while the rest is an outright struggle to properly rate the impact of what they're watching.

In the Alien's rookie season, he had the highest on/off defensive swing in the NBA. San Antonio's defense was 11.5 points better per 100 possessions with Vic on the floor. Rudy Gobert won Defensive Player of the Year that season despite only having a 4.2 swing and 115 fewer stocks (steals and blocks).

The Timberwolves had better team defense, but those on/off numbers tell you that his teammates didn't suffer much of a drop-off without him. The Spurs, on the other hand, couldn't survive a lick without Wembanyama. They went from a top defensive unit when Vic was on the floor to a bottom one when he sat.

Things didn't change for the Spurs as much as some believe

Defensive swings continued last season, and that's carried into this year, too. The team has improved as a unit, but much of their system still runs through Vic. The Spurs have a 116.5 defensive rating when he's off the court, compared to a 106.8 rating when he's on it. This consistent impact was always there, but a rookie had never won DPOY before, and that's mainly why they didn't give it to him.

In year two, he was robbed from what would have been his first All-NBA selection and what should have been his second DPOY, but the blood clot got in the way. He was the overwhelming favorite when that diagnosis came down, and if the 65-game rule wasn't in place, he still may have won it with the 46 he did suit up for. That's just how special this player is.

There always seems to be some weird or arbitrary way to penalize Wembanyama for doing nothing other than giving everything he has to the game. That needs to change. It's getting old really fast.

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