The NBA legend Carmelo Anthony isn’t saying anything unpopular when he speaks on Victor Wembanyama.
Before the San Antonio Spurs’ big man ever suited up for his team, many have said that he has a Hall of Fame ceiling. After seeing Wembanyama in action for two seasons, the narrative hasn’t shifted.
Anthony sees the vision, and he believes that year three could be an MVP campaign for Wemby.
“I predict he’s the MVP this year. I say that because he has an opportunity to lead every statistical category in the game. Every category that there is, he can lead in this season,” Anthony said on 7PM in Brooklyn.
The “generational player” tag has been thrown around more loosely in recent years. As expected, many have described Wembanyama as just that. But it hasn’t taken too long for Carmelo Anthony to realize that the Spurs’ center is truly that type of star.
“You never seen anything like Kareem until Shaq,” Anthony explained. “We’ve never seen no [expletive] like Shaq before. I’ve never seen a physical prowess specimen like Shaq. I’ve never seen it, we probably would never, ever see that, ever again. We’ve never seen a LeBron before. We’ve seen glimpses of pieces of everybody. We’ve never seen a LeBron James before. We’ve never seen Wemby. We’ve never seen [nothing] like Wemby could lead every category there is, and statistically, that’s MVP.”
The NBA’s playoff race has been ruled by front-court players over the years. Before 2025, James Harden was the last guard to win the award in 2018. Giannis Antetokounmpo broke a four-year streak in 2019, and won the MVP award in back-to-back seasons.
via @NBAPR: Victor Wembanyama is the only player to have 2,000+ points, 1,000+ rebounds, 200+ blocks and 200+ three-pointers through his first two NBA seasons.
Victor Wembanyama is the only player to have 2,000+ points, 1,000+ rebounds, 200+ blocks and 200+ three-pointers through his first two NBA seasons.
Wembanyama and the @spurs tip off their season when they visit the @dallasmavs on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 9:30 PM ET on ESPN.… pic.twitter.com/ivymZ6gYdW
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) October 15, 2025
In 2021, Nikola Jokic won the award for the first time. He ended up winning it for three out of four years, with Joel Embiid beating him out for it in 2023. Although Shai Gilgeous-Alexander snapped a six-year streak of front-court players taking home the award, Jokic and Antetokounmpo were right behind him.
If the award race goes as Anthony expects it to, Wembanyama should be right there in the picture. Throughout his career, he has averaged over 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Before getting shut down after 46 games last year, Wembanyama posted averages of 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 3.8 blocks.
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