Victor Wembanyama's paint takeover is making the NBA's MVP race feel like a formality

Welp. It may be a wrap, folks. Just call the MVP race now. Victor Wembanyama was already the best defender in the NBA by a mile, but now he's putting up Wilt Chamberlain numbers in a fraction of the time. If he's going to start clowning on the court like this, just go ahead and start engraving the Michael Jordan Trophy now.

The Alien put up a career-high 52 points, 24 rebounds, and eight blocks in 34 minutes of action on Wednesday night against Cooper Flagg's Dallas Mavericks. He took 23 free throws and sank 19 of them. The numbers on their own are impressive enough, but they gain meaning when you realize San Antonio needed every bit of that production, and it was done with only one made three-pointer.

There was zero stat-padding here. The Silver and Black barely got out of the Frost Bank Center with a one-point victory (112-111). They likely wouldn't have were it not for Wemby's heroics.

Wembanyama's night was historic before the second half began

Wemby went for 29/15/5 (we're talking blocks here, not assists) in the first half. It took him 17 minutes of game time. That was the first time in the play-by-play era (1996-97) that any player had put up 25/10/5 in a half, according to the NBA.

As far as Spurs history goes, according to Jordan Howenstine, only two players have ever posted 29/15/5 in a single game: David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

Vic came to play with bad intentions on his mind, and Dallas paid the price for it. Wemby wasn't himself at Monday night's home soiree with the Jazz. He finished the night with 12 points on 5-15 shooting—this came fresh off a 43-point explosion against the Timberwolves. The Utah game was unacceptable for someone who wants to be MVP, and he probably knew that.

Wemby just added premium fuel to his MVP chase

How do you make everyone forget about that less-than-stellar performance? You follow it up with a masterclass. You make them forget about the Jazz game because it doesn't matter. 43 points is what matters. 52 points is what matters. When looking at his averages over the past week, nobody will notice one bad night.

Wembanyama's last four games

35.8 PPG, 14 RPG, 4 APG, 4.8 BPG, 1.8 SPG, 51% FG

60 Minutes recently aired a segment featuring San Antonio's franchise star. During his interview, Wemby conceded that he should not have won the MVP award last season, but he made sure to tell L. Jon Wertheim that he should win it this year. This is what that chase looks like in year four, and it feels like the time is right.

Wembanyama is stronger physically, but after the experience of the playoffs and the heartbreak of the Finals loss, he's also stronger mentally and emotionally. Vic is playing with a better understanding of the game and how to use his otherworldly tools to impose his will, and it's mostly happening on the inside.

I'd ask what opponents are supposed to do with that, but ex-NBA players Tim Legler and Richard Jefferson asked that question on the broadcast all game long, and they both repeatedly landed on the same answer: nothing.

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