The NBA MVP race is scorching hot right now, as two candidates vie for the ultimate prize.
In a recent chat with the NBA on Prime crew, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton gave his own take on the subject, making a surprising pick with just a handful of games left to play. Despite facing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the Finals less than one year ago, he gave the nod to him as the rightful MVP, even over Spurs star Victor Wembanyama.
“I see there’s been a lot of conversation about it,” said Haliburton. “If I had a vote, it would for sure go to Shai for back-to-back. What Wemby is doing in San Antonio is amazing, so I don’t want to take away from that, but I would vote for Shai.”
After tearing his Achilles tendon in the 2025 Finals, Haliburton has had nothing but time to watch this NBA season play out. Even as his Pacers sit dead last in the standings, he can still appreciate those who are delivering greatness on a regular basis. That’s why he has no problem conceding the race to the same guy who sent his team packing in the playoffs last season.
Of course, that doesn’t mean things started that way. This year, it began with the usual names: Nikola Jokic, SGA, and Luka Doncic, as each of them started their teams down the path of contention. Eventually, due to injuries and other factors, Jokic and Doncic faded from the conversation while others like Jaylen Brown and Victor Wembanyama rose to the surface.
Today, the consensus is that it’s a two-horse race between Shai and Wemby. SGA, of course, won the award last year, and he’s having an arguably even better season with averages of 31.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game on 55.3% shooting and 37.9% shooting from three. The Thunder have been the best team in the West all season, and they are on pace for another 60+ win campaign thanks to Shai, who continues to deliver game after game.
If you ask Victor Wembanyama, however, he’ll say that he has a stronger case for MVP. Along with season averages of 24.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game on 50.5% shooting and 35.1% shooting from three, he’s playing with the kind of defense that’s hard to outmatch. At 7’4″ and 235 pounds, Victor has the size, along with the skills, to do everything on the court, and that versatility has the Spurs thriving at second in the West (56-18).
With only two games separating Wembanyama and Shai in the standings, this debate isn’t going to be about team record or performance. Rather, it’s going to be about which player makes the bigger overall impact. With Shai already coming off an MVP season, the odds are stacked in Victor’s favor, but he cannot afford any mistakes from here. With just eight games left on the schedule, now is the time for Wembanyama to play his best basketball and ramp up his activity on both ends of the floor in one last statement run.
