Anthony Slater Apr 2, 2026, 02:22 AM ET
SAN FRANCISCO — After posting 41 points and 18 rebounds in Wednesday night’s runaway road win, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt the MVP is a clear goal.
“I do care deeply about it,” Wembanyama said. “I think that of the greats that are in the Hall of Fame — or the best of all time — they have fought and grabbed everything they could grab early on in their career. If I want to make my spot among the greats, I got to try to not miss any occasion to put my name up there.”
The Spurs dominated a shorthanded Golden State Warriors, building a double-digit lead within three minutes and closing out a 127-113 victory. San Antonio has won 10 straight overall and 15 consecutive games in which Wembanyama has played. Over that stretch he is averaging 27.9 points and 12.3 rebounds.
Wembanyama has recorded five straight games with at least 15 rebounds — the longest such run by a Spurs player since Dennis Rodman in 1995, surpassing Tim Duncan’s and David Robinson’s four-game streaks of 15-plus boards.
“Wow,” Wembanyama said of the comparison. “I watched a lot of highlights [of Rodman], mostly on the Bulls than anything else. They don’t make them like [him] anymore.”
San Antonio is 26-2 in its past 28 games, tightening the race with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top seed. The Thunder hold a two-game lead with six games remaining, but the Spurs own the tiebreaker after a 4-1 head-to-head edge.
Defending MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has also closed strong; Oklahoma City has won 15 of 16 and he has scored 40-plus three times in the past two weeks.
Even if Wembanyama falls short in MVP voting, he’s widely regarded as a near-lock for Defensive Player of the Year. Before Wednesday’s game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr called him “obviously the best defensive player in the league.” After the game Kerr lauded Wembanyama’s development.
“He’s got unbelievable confidence now,” Kerr said. “He looks like he knows exactly what to do on both ends. His first couple years, he looked young at times. He doesn’t look young anymore. He just looks like he knows exactly what he’s doing. Dominated the glass. There’s plays you can’t do anything. Several lobs where it looked like a Nerf hoop. He’s brilliant.”
