NBA MVP Ladder keeps hope alive for an explosive end to Wemby's historic season

San Antonio's very own superhero has maintained his place at number four on the NBA's weekly MVP Ladder, and there's good and bad to that. The good news is that Victor Wembanyama has maintained his stellar play more than halfway through the season, and his efforts continue to be recognized.

There's no downside to that. NBA.com's Shaun Powell highlights the Alien's impact on both ends, averaging 25 points and 9 rebounds in 25 minutes a night in January while boasting the second-most blocked shot total in the league. But it's that very impact that leans into the bad news to this list's release, and that's the offensive bias that permeates basketball groupthink.

Wembanyama's defense is being undervalued

I don't even think Vic has been as stellar on the defensive end as he was in his first two seasons, but that's more about offenses adjusting to him than a slip in his impact. It's actually quite the opposite. Wemby has finally convinced teams to stop trying him in the paint as often, so now, they're utilizing completely different strategies to score points.

Luka Doncic is ahead of the 210-adopted Frenchman, and he's held position over Vic all season long, but I'm going to need someone to explain to me why. Luka is averaging 34 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds. But this isn't the stat-stuffing award. He's still an abysmal defender, and his team is sixth in the Western Conference, compared to second for the Spurs.

Wembanyama's defense, while not the same in terms of counting stats, is game-changing and easily elevates his overall impact above Luka's, and I'm not sure there's a general manager in the league who would take the Slovenian playmaker over the extraterrestrial in San Antonio. That doesn't even touch on Nikola Jokic, who shouldn't still be sitting at the number two spot.

Jokic hasn't played in weeks

When Vic was out for that 12-game stretch earlier in the season, they took him off this list rather quickly. He didn't return to it until about two weeks after he returned from injury, so I'm just wondering why those same standards aren't being applied to the Joker.

We don't have to go through his numbers. He's been one of the best offensive players of all time once again this year. I get how special his game is and the impact it has on the Nuggets. However, he's been out for 13 games now and still enjoys a spot on this list. I'm just looking for consistency here.

The Spurs haven't been quite the same since Devin Vassell went out, and their offense took a dip, but they maintained their spot in the West because the defense has continued to be outstanding. That's directly correlated to Wemby's presence.

I even believe the elevated number of threes he's been taking lately is a response to the offense's recent sputters, showing an ownership of the team's biggest headache. The result, after a slow shooting start at the beginning of the season, is a 39% three-point shooter in a 7'5" frame. It's insane.

I don't know; maybe I'm crazy, but I think you should reward the guy ensuring his team exceeds preseason expectations by a country mile despite his roster going through constant injuries to key players. That doesn't seem very outlandish to me, though.