Victor Wembanyama is erasing all doubt about who the real MVP is

The NBA's regular season is nearing the finish line, with teams competing for playoff positioning. Not only that, but players are also making their best case for end-of-season awards, with San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama poised to receive several honors.

If he were to play in 13 of the team's final 16 regular season games, he'd qualify for Defensive Player of the Year, All-NBA, and All-Defensive First Team. However, Wembanyama's MVP candidacy simply hasn't gotten much traction.

That's despite the Spurs playing their best basketball in years. My theory is that the Oklahoma City Thunder's red-hot start and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander having a historic scoring streak have cemented his case.

Also, Wembanyama missed 10 games early in the year, and the Spurs were still rolling without him. However, with this team now playing their best basketball and Wembanyama dominating, that should at least guarantee him a top-3 finish in MVP voting. He may even finish second in MVP voting.

Him finishing second may only be a consolation prize but could be a sign of things to come for Wemby.

Victor Wembanyama can flip the script on the MVP race

The Spurs catching the Thunder in the standings could help close the gap in the MVP conversation. Especially with Wembanyama putting up absolutely monster numbers. It's definitely possible.

It's true that SGA is having an historic offensive season and is a talented defensive player. To Wemby's credit, he is having a fantastic offensive season and a near-historic season defensively.

It's rare for a player to be that impactful on both ends of the floor. In fact, he has the best net rating in the NBA, clearing even SGA.

However, more likely. Both the Silver and Black and Wemby continue to play well to close the season, but perhaps they will avoid going all out to land the best record in the West. They are currently three losses behind the Thunder with only around 15 games remaining.

If they hope to catch OKC, they won't have much room for error. Instead, the Spurs may choose to sit Wembanyama three times down the stretch to keep him healthy for the playoffs without impacting his eligibility for end-of-season awards.

The Spurs finishing second may not be bad, as the Thunder may have a tougher playoff path as the West's top seed. Also, having Wembanyama healthy is more important than him closing ground in an MVP race that he probably can't win this season.

Spurs' Victor Wembanyama is next in line to MVP

Wembanyama is clearly becoming the next face of the NBA, and while he may not quite be at that level yet, he soon could be. A strong playoffs with him leading the Spurs to at least the Western Conference Finals would do a lot to help his star power.

It could also better position him to win MVP next season and beyond, assuming he is able to remain healthy. SGA isn't going anywhere and will still be in the MVP mix, as will Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.

However, few MVP winners win more than two straight awards. SGA would already have two under his belt, seemingly giving Wembanyama the perfect opportunity to win next season.