The NBA MVP race is heating up.
Victor Wembanyama is making his case for the award as though he were a presidential nominee on a campaign trail.
Luka Doncic is arguing for votes by going on a jaw-dropping scoring tear and tightening his defense.
And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , who won the MVP Award last season en route to carrying the Thunder to a championship, is proceeding with machine-like efficiency in hopes that things will play out similarly this year.
Victor Wembanyama is making his case for the award as though he were a presidential nominee. Getty Images
Luka Doncic is arguing for votes by going on a jaw-dropping scoring tear and tightening his defense. NBAE via Getty Images
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the MVP Award last season en route to carrying the Thunder to a championship. NBAE via Getty Images
Gilgeous-Alexander is the favorite to win the award, followed by Doncic and then Wembanyama, according to NBA.com and betting odds by FanDuel Sportsbook .
But with the second-seeded Spurs (54-18) only three games behind the top-seeded Thunder (57-15) in the Western Conference, the race is getting tighter. Not to mention, Doncic just led the third-seeded Lakers (46-26) on a nine-game winning streak while putting up astronomical numbers.
Gilgeous-Alexander is no longer a shoo-in for the league's most prestigious individual honor. The race is closer than anyone anticipated.
It's all going to come down to the final few weeks of the regular season. As things stand, here's a look at the top competitors for the MVP Award:
The cool thing about Wembanyama is he cares. Deeply. He's not afraid to say he wants to win MVP. AP
The cool thing about Wembanyama is he cares. Deeply. He's not afraid to say he wants to win MVP. He's the kind of guy who tears up after leading the Spurs to a 25-point comeback victory over the Clippers on March 6. Basketball isn't just his job, it's his life force.
So, when the 7-foot-4 superstar was asked to make an argument for why he should win the MVP Award on Monday, he didn't roll his eyes or make the reporter feel silly for putting him in that position. Instead, he seized the opportunity.
His points didn't come across as braggy. Rather, they were noteworthy. As a voter, it made me do a double-take.
"My first one will be that defense is 50% of the game, and it is undervalued so far in the MVP race because I believe I'm the most impactful player defensively in the league," he said. (Accurate.)
"Second argument would be that we almost swept OKC in the season. We dominated them three times with their real team, and four times with more rotation players. And my third argument would be that offense impact is not just points." (Accurate.)
Wembanyama is averaging 24.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots. He's one of six players who have put up such numbers, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who did it five times), Hakeem Olajuwon (who did it twice), Shaquille O'Neal, Patrick Ewing and David Robinson.
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has been a force on both sides of the court. AP
But with him, the numbers only tell part of the story.
The thing about Wembanyama is a lot of what he does doesn't show up in box scores. His presence makes opposing players alter their shots. His outstretched arms eliminate passing lanes. And on offense, he not only dominates inside, as well as making 3s and dribbling with the deftness of a guard, but he makes defenses have to invent new schemes.
Behind Wembanyama, the Spurs have won 22 of their last 24 games, including six straight.
If the MVP Award goes to the best overall player, Wembanyama has quite a case. No one is a better defender. And his offense is elite.
As the Spurs try to overcome the Thunder for the West's top seed, Wembanyama is also trying to leapfrog Gilgeous-Alexander for the league's top award, something he believes he can do.
"I think right now, it is still reasonable that there is a debate," he said. "… My goal is to make sure there's no debate anymore at the end of the season."
Doncic has stormed into the MVP conversation over the last few weeks. NBAE via Getty Images
Doncic has stormed into the MVP conversation over the last few weeks.
Over the Lakers' nine-game winning streak, he demanded the league take notice, averaging 40 points, 8.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.6 steals a game. He's the second player in NBA history to average 40 points over a nine-game winning streak, alongside Wilt Chamberlain. Doncic also shot 40.3% from beyond the arc over that stretch.
Those numbers aren't just eye-popping, they're staggering. Doncic has unquestionably been the NBA's best player over the last few weeks, helping the Lakers beat multiple contenders, including the Rockets, Nuggets, Timberwolves and Knicks .
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There was his 51-point, 10-rebound, 9-assist and 3-steal performance against the Bulls. There was his game-winner in overtime against the Nuggets. There was his 60-point performance against the Heat.
Doncic has been on a tear lately. He has even made an impact on defense. (If he could maintain that defensive effort over an entire season, he'd potentially be a slam dunk for this award.)
His offensive numbers over the last few weeks aren't anomalous, either.
Doncic leads the league in scoring (33.4). He's third in assists (8.4). And his efficiency is second in the league (33.5), behind Nikola Jokic (40.9). Gilgeous-Alexander is third in that category (32.8), and Wembanyama is fourth (30.5).
Now that the Lakers are winning, Doncic is making his case for the league's top award impossible to ignore. To make things even more interesting, the Lakers play the Thunder twice over their remaining 10 regular-season games, which means Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander will be pitted against each other.
Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) is the reigning NBA MVP. NBAE via Getty Images
His case is pretty straightforward: He's the best player on the best team in the league.
He's a true two-way player who has helped the Thunder remain atop the league all season. He's the picture of consistency. His excellence is so dependable that it verges on boring.
Every night, Gilgeous-Alexander fully commits to both ends of the court. He's averaging 31.5 points on 55.5% shooting, 4.5 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.4 steals for the team that is favored to repeat for a championship.
When Gilgeous-Alexander is on the court, the Thunder are better than the league's best offense (scoring 120.4 per 100 possessions) and better than its best defense (allowing 106 points per 100 possessions).
But with Wembanyama making the Western Conference race interesting, and with Doncic putting up video game numbers, Gilgeous-Alexander might be dethroned.
The next few weeks will be telling.
