Matt Barnes’ bold Victor Wembanyama MVP take will catch Spurs fans’ attention

As San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama hit the 65-game threshold to be qualified for certain end-of-season awards like Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) and Most Valuable Player (MVP), he’s no doubt in contention for both. With Wembanyama looking to also lead the Spurs in the playoffs, Matt Barnes would have a take about what separates him from other candidates for MVP.

When it comes to the players up for MVP, the main candidates are Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, and it would’ve been Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic, but he didn’t meet the game-minimum to qualify.

Despite that, Doncic has had a great season, with Wembanyama’s name firmly among the other candidates as well, but Barnes makes a case that the San Antonio big man also brings the “defensive impact” along with the impressive offensive numbers.

Barnes would speak with Kevin Garnett about the topic, saying that he sees Wembanyama, like Michael Jordan in 1988, winning both MVP and DPOY. The last time that happened was with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2019-20 season.

“One person I want to point out, and I don’t know,” Barnes said. “Obviously, he’s in the conversation, but it’s Wemby at 24 and 11, but also the defensive impact. You can talk about SGA, you could talk about Luka, incredible, but they don’t have the defensive impact. I think Wemby will be the next guy that did what Jordan did in what 88 or 8988 season…Defensive Player of the Year and MVP.”

"You can talk about [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander], you can talk about Luka [Doncic]… But they don't have the defensive impact. I think Wemby will be the next guy that did what [Michael] Jordan did… DPOY and MVP."

Matt Barnes on Victor Wembanyama pic.twitter.com/KMLyB3owvY

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 11, 2026

Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama in MVP and DPOY contention

Looking at Wembanyama’s numbers, he has averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 51.2 percent from the field. As he’s been the favorite for DPOY, he does have competition for MVP as the other names listed before, like Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic, have been in contention right from the get-go.

In order to get Wembanyama qualified with the 65-game minimum, he would score 40 points on 14 of 23 shooting from the field to go along wth 13 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks against the Dallas Mavericks in San Antonio’s 139-120 win on Friday.

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