Victor Wembanyama's scoring boost is costing his MVP rivals their best argument

Last season, Victor Wembanyama ended third in MVP voting behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic. It seemed as if his two-way production wasn't enough to outshine their video-game-like offensive play, but that's not the case this time around. The Alien has taken a monumental leap on the scoring end to go along with his stifling interior defense.

That was on full display in his performance against the Phoenix Suns. He decimated them, scoring 40 points on 15-for-19 shooting and draining two of his three attempts from beyond the arc. Oh, it didn't stop there. He also blocked nine shots, corralled 11 rebounds, and was +30. It only took him a bit over 25 minutes to do all of this.

This was simply one of the best all-around performances of the 2026-27 campaign so far, making his case for the MVP award even stronger.

Wemby is taking a massive leap as a scorer

As the Spurs headed into the locker room on June 13, escaping the New York Knicks' championship celebration, it was clear that Wemby had so much room to grow as a scorer. Mike Brown's defense did an amazing job forcing him to settle for jump shots, which severely limited his offensive impact in that series.

Some of those problems crept into this season, but over these last few games, the young superstar looks like he's figuring it out. His shot diet has been much better, balancing out his long-range jumpers with some strong finishes around the basket. In that win over the Suns, he did an amazing job driving or rolling to the rim for a ludicrous amount of explosive dunks and layups.

His determination to get into the paint is also forcing defenders to foul and send him to the charity stripe. I mean, what else can they do? Containing an athletic 7'4" demigod is such a daunting task that hacking him seems like the only other option available for some teams. In his last four games, he's taken 51 free throws and made 80% of them.

This is the version of Wemby the Spurs need. Sure, he can take shots from beyond the arc; he's proven he can make them. But as long as he's still pushing himself to punish opponents in the paint, this team's offense is nearly unstoppable.

Wemby's two-way production can't be ignored by MVP voters

Wemby's otherworldly two-way impact is unlike anything we've seen in a long time. Over his last four games, he's averaging 37.8 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks while making 64.1% of his shots and 43.5% of his threes. Yes, that's a real stat line.

This season, he's been truly elite on both sides of the floor. We can comfortably call him one of the best scorers in the league and the best defensive player. There isn't another guy you can say that about. Stop and think about it... You won't find anyone else.

This is no longer an elite young shot-blocker who's averaging 25 points per night (although that's still impressive on its own). Wemby's become a lights-out scorer who is even more intimidating on defense than last season, and that's what separates him from his peers in the MVP conversation.

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