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Spurs’ Mitch Johnson sounds off on Victor Wembanyama’s MVP case amid historic season
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- Spurs’ Mitch Johnson sounds off on Victor Wembanyama’s MVP case amid historic season
Spurs' Mitch Johnson sounds off on Victor Wembanyama's MVP case amid historic season appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
There's little debate that Victor Wembanyama has grown into one of the NBA's top players in his third season. The 23-year-old's monstrous production has elevated the San Antonio Spurs to legitimate contender status. Is it enough to make him the league's youngest MVP of all time?
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Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson thinks so.
"He's as big a needle-mover for his team to win [as anybody]," Johnson said before Thursday's matchup with the Brooklyn Nets . "The individual stuff that goes into being identified as the best or most valuable is offense, defense, the boards and everything that goes in between. He's at the forefront for [each of] those. And there's other guys in the league that do that. I haven't taken a deep dive on that, but I definitely think he's in the conversation. It would be hard for someone to make a logical argument as to why he's not in that conversation."
Wembanyama's two-way contributions have led the Spurs to the NBA's third-best record (42-16).
Victor Wembanyama enters MVP conversation while leading Spurs ascnesion
Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The French phenom has averaged 24.0 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists on .503/.353/.812 shooting splits. Offensively, he's one of six players averaging 24-plus points on 50 percent shooting or better, alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , Nikola Jokic , Giannis Antetokounmpo , Kevin Durant and Austin Reaves .
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Meanwhile, Wembanyama has continued to have a historic impact defensively . He leads the NBA with 3.9 stocks (steals + blocks) per game, 0.8 ahead of the next highest player ( Scottie Barnes : 3.0). The Spurs allow 10.6 fewer points per 100 possessions with him on the court vs. off, the NBA's second-highest defensive rating swing, behind only Rudy Gobert (-12.7), per CleaningTheGlass.
Wembanyama currently has the fifth-best MVP odds at +3300, behind Gilgeous-Alexander (-190), Jokic (+300), Cade Cunningham (+1400) and Luka Doncic (+2000), per FanDuel Sportsbook. The Spurs star can miss only three more games to maintain his eligibility.
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