Spurs' Victor Wembanyama has painfully obvious path to winning MVP

The NBA's award race was thrown into chaos when MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic suffered a knee injury that is expected to keep him out at least a month. That gives San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama a path to winning the award.

The Silver and Black have the fourth-best record in the NBA, and they have had several high-profile wins that might bolster his candidacy. To be clear, he is still likely a fringe MVP candidate, and he can only afford to miss a few remaining games and still be considered.

His most recent injury has caused him to miss a couple of games, further hurting his MVP odds. However, he is down but not out of the awards race just yet.

Wembanyama has one final path to winning MVP this season

Since rejoining the starting lineup, he has put up big numbers, including two 30-point double-doubles. Had he not gotten injured against the New York Knicks, he seemed well on his way to scoring 40 points for the second time this season.

The most significant change in his play between now and the season opener is his willingness to take threes. With teams dramatically changing how they guard Wembanyama, he has been forced to change how he's played. He can't simply run to the post, call for the ball, and then go to work.

Instead, he has picked his spots much better, including taking more spot-up and fast-break threes. He has also been more active taking mid-range jumpers, launching 3.5 attempts per game, and shooting an impressive 45.6%.

Wembanyama and the Spurs have figured out opposing defenses

Him being able to take seven shots per game away from the paint and being above average in both areas has allowed him to continue to score efficiently. It has also made it harder for teams to load up against him.

His teammates are also doing a much better job of finding him in the paint for alley-oops, namely Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle. As a result, Wembanyama and the Spurs have successfully found ways to counter opposing defenses.

Even so, his numbers have dipped due to his five-game stint in which he came off the bench. But if he is able to stay healthy for the remainder of the regular season, then he could be in the thick of the MVP race, assuming the Spurs are still dominating.

San Antonio is currently on pace to win 60 games this season. And while they likely won't catch the Oklahoma City Thunder in the standings, the fact that they could improve by nearly 30 games over last year could buoy Wembanyama's candidacy.

Especially with San Antonio having already beaten the Thunder three times this season. Whether he can win the award will ultimately come down to if he can stay healthy over the final 47 games of the season.

That's a big question mark, but if he can, then he will continue to put up monster numbers, and San Antonio should continue to win games.