Veteran media members are making the boldest Wemby proclamations imaginable

The Spurs have 18 games left in their season, and that means Victor Wembanyama is running out of time to make his MVP case. Fortunately for him, media members with end-of-season award votes are already starting to see the light. Take Tim MacMahon, for example. He was completely sure of himself when deeming Vic a top two candidate for the league's most prestigious regular season award.

"To me, the MVP is Shai vs. Wemby now. All due respect to Joker, who's not been the same since coming back from a knee. And then the two games against the Spurs, I'm sorry. I can't put Cade above Wemby watching those two games." - ESPN's Tim MacMahon

The Alien has been on a tear, so it only feels right that these takes appear. Recently, a few critics echoed the phrase "The idea of Wemby is better than actual Wemby." It was a preposterous statement in the moment, and it's only gotten worse with time. Vic has averaged 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks while shooting 55% FG and 44% 3PT over the past four games. That's unheard of.

Wembanyama is coming for the NBA crown

Chris Broussard, co-host for FS1's First Things First, went a step further than Tim MacMahon on Monday's show and called Wembanyama the best player in the league right now. He's the first one I've heard make this proclamation—something he'll, undoubtedly, continue to reference as it becomes undeniable.

I think it's easier to see Brou's point of view when you stop using conventional wisdom to judge players. There are more simple counting stat categories on offense than there are on defense, making it more difficult to measure the impact on that side of the floor. But Wemby's impact is so obvious, it's forcing people to re-evaluate that.

As I write this, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is being showered with praise because of his late-game performance against Denver. OKC just defeated the Nuggets for the third time this season, and he hit two huge shots in the waning moments to escape with a win. He had 35 points, 15 assists, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block on 14/21 FG. It was a tremendous performance.

But was it more impressive than the 38/16 with 5 blocks that Vic just had on the number one overall seed Detroit Pistons? He was a +20, and the night resulted in a blowout. SGA was a +2, and the game came down to the wire against a Nuggets team that entered the night 7-9 in their last 16 games. Nuance is important in these conversations.

They can be enamored with the offense all they want, but Wembanyama will give that to them while dominating the defense like no player ever before. That needs to be accounted for. The combination of his all-encompassing game should keep him squarely in the race. It's not over, and it's closer than some would have you believe.