SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 The answer came with a slight delay, as if Victor Wembanyama was deciding whether the question was rhetorical before sharing his unfiltered truth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you vote for yourself?\u201d I asked the San Antonio Spurs phenom about the MVP race as he left the visitors\u2019 news conference inside the Golden 1 Center on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
He took two more steps down the hallway, turned ever so slightly to his left, then chose to state the blatantly obvious without a hint of emotion.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d he said before bounding on his way.<\/p>\n
If you somehow haven\u2019t noticed by now, the 22-year-old who has been such a bright spot in these dark NBA times is relentlessly and refreshingly competitive.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s the 7-foot-4 (at least<\/a>) antidote to all that ails the NBA, a welcome distraction from the salary-cap circumvention allegations, gambling controversies and tanking turmoil that have stolen so much of the spotlight this season.<\/p>\n If he wasn\u2019t creating the best kind of controversy at the NBA Cup in late December, taking out the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder while planting seeds of a rivalry<\/a> that has only grown more intense since, he was single-handedly saving the All-Star game<\/a> in Los Angeles with his unbridled spirit two months later. Or sharing his raw emotion<\/a> \u2014 in the regular season, no less \u2014 after a 25-point comeback win against the LA Clippers earlier this month. Or, to bring it back to the topic at hand, setting the stage for some wholesome awards fun down the home stretch by announcing his ambitions to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award (which he likely will) and the MVP honor.<\/p>\n That last part, which was shared during a live interview with ESPN three nights before in Charlotte, N.C., came as a surprise to anyone who had watched the Thunder\u2019s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander give his unofficial acceptance speech to Nikola Joki\u0107 and his Denver Nuggets just five nights before. Yours truly included.<\/p>\n However, the mere fact that Wembanyama, audacious and pugnacious as ever, felt compelled to remind the voters that there was still time left for him to shock the basketball world was yet another sign that he\u2019ll be creating wonderful hoops theater for a long time to come.<\/p>\n Health willing, of course.<\/p>\n The blood clot that cut his second season short inspired a sense of appreciation that is the driving force behind every move he makes. The effect, it seems, is that this wise-beyond-his-years young man, who was already wildly driven before his health scare, is now pushing his limits on an even deeper level.<\/p>\n Time is finite, and the future uncertain, so why not go for it all while you have the chance? That admirable energy, born of the medical chaos he endured and his innate confidence, has created a bold agenda for the coming weeks and months that makes Wembanyama and these Spurs an absolute must-watch in every right way.<\/p>\n When the Spurs (51-18 entering Thursday) reached the 50-win mark this week, Wembanyama wasted no time in declaring his desire for them to get to 60. When it seemed clear that DPOY was in his sights, he got greedy and started talking about pulling off an MVP upset. That sort of mindset, and messaging, has propelled this up-and-coming team into title-contender status overnight.<\/p>\n Truth be told, these Spurs have no business talking about titles. The historical reality is that teams with this much collective inexperience don\u2019t do that sort of thing. Yet after all the skepticism that came their way early on, when they were widely seen as a promising group that might have its time a few years from now, here they are with the second-best record in the league \u2014 only 3 1\/2 games behind the Thunder \u2014 with less than a month to go before the playoffs begin. That fact alone warrants a closer look at the MVP race.<\/p>\n Considering team success is always a factor in the minds of voters, there\u2019s still a scenario in which the Spurs overtake the Thunder (55-15) for the league\u2019s best record and force a conversation about what that might mean. Wembanyama\u2019s desire for the Spurs to reach 60 wins is a clear sign that San Antonio will keep pushing, while the Thunder might very well coast to the finish with the bigger picture in mind. And considering the Spurs\u2019 dominance over the Thunder in head-to-head matchups this season \u2014 four wins in five meetings, including the aforementioned NBA Cup semifinal \u2014 those optics would certainly be in Wembanyama\u2019s favor. As it relates to the league\u2019s 65-game eligibility rule, Wembanyama must play in at least 11 of the Spurs\u2019 final 13 games to stay in this race, while Gilgeous-Alexander needs to play in eight of the Thunder\u2019s final 12.<\/p>\n