Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's reported MVP win adds fuel for Victor Wembanyama before Spurs-Thunder WCF

The 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year noted defense is "50 percent of the game" while discussing why he deserved to win MVP in March. He's certainly right. Defense wins championships, and his defensive impact is one of the main reasons San Antonio can do so. 

Wembanyama has averaged 4.1 BPG during the playoffs and posted a stellar defensive rating of 94 (points allowed per 100 possessions), per Basketball Reference. Entering Sunday, he was the postseason leader in both categories.  

The Thunder's regular-season record (64-18, No. 1 in the NBA) gave Gilgeous-Alexander an edge in MVP voting over Wembanyama, who helped the Spurs go 62-20 and finish second in the Western Conference behind Oklahoma City. 

But no team gave Gilgeous-Alexander and company more trouble than the Wembanyama-led Spurs. Oklahoma City played five games against San Antonio during the regular season, going 1-4. 

Gilgeous-Alexander played in four of these contests, while Wembanyama competed in five. Both were excellent. Per StatMuse, the guard averaged 29.5 PPG, 5.5 APG and 4.5 RPG in these games. The forward, meanwhile, logged 18.4 PPG, 9.2 RPG, two APG and 1.2 BPG. 

The inexperience of Wembanyama and other Spurs could play a factor against Oklahoma City in the WCF. This postseason marks the Frenchman's first playoff appearance. The Thunder, meanwhile, won the NBA Finals last season and are aiming to become the first team to repeat as champions since the Golden State Warriors during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. 

Wembanyama is confident the Spurs can upset the Thunder, despite their postseason inexperience. They dominated the regular-season series and feature a special talent in Wembanyama, so why wouldn't they be?

Wembanyama isn't expected to win MVP, but he could do something else: separate himself as the clear postseason MVP if he leads San Antonio to an upset over the Thunder and a championship.