By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-03-11 13:57:32
2026 年 3 月 10 日，星期二，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) (1 号) 在圣安东尼奥弗罗斯特银行中心对阵波士顿凯尔特人队的比赛中投中三分球后做出反应。文班亚马在 NBA MVP 的争夺中面临着一场艰苦的战斗，但他凭借在马刺队下半程冲刺阶段的统治级表现，为自己赢得了话语权。
周二第四节，当维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 走上罚球线时，他很清楚等待他的是什么。
只要球一到他手里，呼喊声便准时响起：“M-V-P！M-V-P！”
自从文班亚马的新秀赛季以来，弗罗斯特银行中心 (Frost Bank Center) 的主场观众就像教堂合唱团一样，一直吟唱着这段旋律。
最近，围绕这位 22 岁的马刺中锋的 MVP 呼声变得更加响亮、持久，且更具现实意义。
“这当然是我的目标之一，”文班亚马表示，“我也明白，我需要在赛季的最后阶段加大马力，才能赢得那个奖项。”
在过去的几周里，文班亚马一直致力于提升自己在 MVP 竞争中的地位，就像理查德·佩蒂 (Richard Petty) 在代托纳赛道的直道上猛踩油门一样。
这是否足以让圣安东尼奥迎来继蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 在 2002 年和 2003 年蝉联 MVP 以来的首座 MVP 奖杯，仍有待观察。
在进入他职业生涯第三个赛季的最后一个月之际，文班亚马场均贡献 24.2 分、11.1 个篮板和领跑全联盟的 3 次盖帽。与此同时，他每晚都在防守端展现出破坏性的统治力，这已非单纯的数据统计所能描述。
随着这位身高 7 英尺 4 英寸的法国人成为球队的核心，马刺队的战绩已从上赛季的 34 胜提升至今年的 48 胜且仍在增加。他们牢牢占据着西部第二的位置，并紧随排名第一的俄克拉荷马城雷霆队之后。
在周二击败波士顿的比赛中，文班亚马再次打出 MVP 级的表现，砍下 39 分，追平了职业生涯单场最高的 8 记三分球，并贡献了 11 个篮板和 2 次盖帽。
“在带动球队赢球方面，他起到了举足轻重的作用，而且他的球队确实在赢球，”马刺队主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 说道，“如果有人说他不应该出现在讨论名单中，那很难给出合乎逻辑的理由。”
NBA 内部人士的共识是，俄克拉荷马城的谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 仍有望蝉联迈克尔·乔丹杯 (Michael Jordan Trophy)。
他是一位实至名归的候选人，场均砍下 31.7 分，并带领雷霆队夺得联盟第一的战绩。
丹佛掘金队的尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokic) 将于周四造访弗罗斯特银行中心，他同样处于竞争行列。这位三届 MVP 场均抢下 12.5 个篮板（联盟第一）并送出 10.3 次助攻（联盟第一），同时还能贡献 28.9 分，为争取第四座奖杯积累了足够的筹码。
底特律活塞队的凯德·坎宁安 (Cade Cunningham)、洛杉矶湖人队的卢卡·东契奇 (Luka Doncic) 和波士顿凯尔特人队的杰伦·布朗 (Jaylen Brown) 的名字也理应出现在选票上。
每天都在场边亲眼见证文班亚马伟大的马刺队友们，不出所料地将他视为头号热门。
“我们从没进季后赛变成了西部第二，”后卫迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 说道，“这没什么好争论的。”
当然，这种讨论也存在前提条件。
为了获得角逐 MVP 和其他奖项的资格，球员必须至少出战 65 场比赛。一些候选人如果再扭伤一次脚踝，就可能面临出局的风险。
约基奇最多只能再缺席一场比赛，否则将失去评选资格。吉尔杰斯-亚历山大可以缺席五场。而文班亚马则有四场的容错空间。
假设所有剩余的竞争者都能达到 65 场的门槛，文班亚马几乎铁定能获得他的首个最佳防守球员奖 (Defensive Player of the Year) 并入选最佳阵容 (All-NBA)。
但要登上 MVP 的最高峰，他仍面临重重阻力。
在过去的十年里，NBA 最有价值球员奖已经演变成了类似于最佳进攻球员的奖项。
上一位场均得分低于 25 分而获奖的球员是金州勇士队的斯蒂芬·库里 (Stephen Curry)，他在 2014-15 赛季以场均 23.8 分的成绩当选。
随后的赛季，库里蝉联 MVP，场均得分提升至 30.1 分。那个赛季的票选第二名是科怀·伦纳德 (Kawhi Leonard)，他场均得到 21.2 分，带领马刺队创下了 67 胜的队史纪录。
文班亚马是本赛季唯一一位场均得分低于 25 分的 MVP 候选人。他的核心竞争力主要体现在防守端，他被认为是自威尔特·张伯伦 (Wilt Chamberlain) 以来联盟最具破坏力的防守力量。
“他在攻防两端的影响力非同寻常，”休斯顿火箭队主教练艾米·乌度卡 (Ime Udoka) 说道，“他们能达到现在的高度，很大程度上归功于他，尤其是他在防守端的表现。”
当被问及评委在投出 MVP 选票时是否往往低估了防守的影响力时，乌度卡给出了肯定的回答。
“绝对是这样，”他表示，“这是一个巨大但未得到充分认可的部分，特别是在球员攻防两端都表现出极高水准的情况下。”
文班亚马明白，为了扭转评委的倾向，他除了现有的表现外也做不了更多。
“对我来说，这可以归结为非常简单的一点，虽然知易行难，”本周在接受一名法国记者采访时，文班亚马用母语谈到了 MVP 竞争，“那就是稳定性——击败顶级球队，最重要的是，在正面对话中战胜那些 MVP 奖项的其他竞争者。”
随着约基奇和掘金队将于周四到访，文班亚马将迎来另一个证明自己的绝佳机会。
如果过往的经历预示着未来，那么在文班亚马踏上罚球线的某一刻，热情的主场观众将再次投出他们的非正式选票。
“M-V-P。”
在圣安东尼奥，没有人会对此有异议。
“我认为，成为最强或最有价值球员所涉及的个人素质——进攻、防守、篮板，以及介于两者之间的一切——他都处于最前沿，”约翰逊说道，“关于这些话题的争论总是很棒的谈资，但如果说现阶段他不在讨论范围之内，那将很难站得住脚。”
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：Is Victor Wembanyama poised to crash the party in NBA MVP race?
Is Victor Wembanyama poised to crash the party in NBA MVP race?
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts after making a three-pointer against the Boston Celtics at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Wembanyama faces an uphill battle in the NBA MVP race, but he’s been making a case with a dominant stretch during the Spurs’ second-half surge.
As Victor Wembanyama went to the foul line in the fourth quarter Tuesday, he knew what awaited him.
The chants began like clockwork as soon as the ball touched his hands: “M-V-P! M-V-P!”
The home crowd at the Frost Bank Center has been singing that chorus like a church choir since Wembanyama’s rookie season.
Lately, the MVP buzz surrounding the 22-year-old Spurs center has become louder, more persistent and more realistic.
“Of course it’s one of my goals,” Wembanyama said. “I also understand I need to press down the gas a bit in the last part of the season to win that award.”
Over the past few weeks, Wembanyama has been doing his part to make the MVP race competitive, punching the accelerator like Richard Petty down the backstretch at Daytona.
Whether it is enough to bring San Antonio its first MVP trophy since Tim Duncan went back-to-back in 2002 and 2003 remains to be seen.
Heading into the final month of this third NBA campaign, Wembanyama is averaging 24.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and a league-high three blocks per game, while nightly turning in offense-wrecking defensive performances that defy box score description.
With the 7-foot-4 Frenchman as the head of the snake, the Spurs have gone from 34 victories last season to 48 and counting this season. They own a clear stranglehold on second place in the Western Conference and are nipping at the heels of first-place Oklahoma City.
Wembanyama is coming off another MVP-worthy night in Tuesday’s win over Boston, scoring 39 points, matching a career best with eight 3-pointers and adding 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
“He’s as big as a needle-mover for his team to win, and his team’s winning,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “It would be hard for someone to make a logical answer as to why he’s not in the conversation.”
The consensus among NBA insiders is that OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains on track for his second consecutive Michael Jordan Trophy.
He is a worthy candidate, averaging 31.7 points while leading the Thunder to the NBA’s best record.
Denver’s Nikola Jokic, who visits the Frost Bank Center on Thursday, remains in the mix as well. The three-time MVP has stated his case for a fourth by leading the league in rebounding (12.5 per game) and assists (10.3 per game) while still finding time to contribute 28.9 points per game.
Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic and Boston’s Jaylen Brown should likewise see their name appear on ballots.
Having enjoyed a front-row seat to Wembanyama’s greatness on a daily basis, his Spurs teammates predictably tab him as the favorite.
“We went from not making the playoffs to the second seed,” guard Dylan Harper said. “There’s not a whole lot to debate.”
There is a caveat to the discourse, of course.
In order to be eligible for MVP and other awards, a player must appear in at least 65 games. A handful of candidates are one twisted ankle away from being bounced from the race.
Jokic can miss one more game and remain on the ballot. Gilgeous-Alexander can miss five. Wembanyama owns a four-game cushion.
Assuming all remaining contenders reach the 65-threshold, Wembanyama should be a shoo-in to earn his first Defensive Player of the Year award and All-NBA honors.
He faces an uphill climb to the top of MVP mountain.
Over the past decade, the NBA Most Valuable Player award morphed into something akin to an Offensive Player of the Year award.
The last player to win it while averaging fewer than 25 points per game was Golden State’s Stephen Curry, who did it in 2014-15 while putting up 23.8 per outing.
The next season, Curry won a second straight MVP while bumping his scoring average to 30.1 per game. The runner up that season was Kawhi Leonard, who averaged 21.2 points to lead a Spurs team that won a franchise-record 67 games.
Wembanyama is the only MVP candidate this season averaging fewer than 25 points. His best argument comes chiefly on the defensive end, where he rates as perhaps the league’s most destructive force since Wilt Chamberlain.
“The way he impacts the game on both sides,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “They are where they are in large part to him and what he is doing, especially on the defensive side.”
Asked if voters tend to underrate defensive impact when it comes to punching MVP ballots, Udoka answered in the affirmative.
“Absolutely,” he said. “That’s a huge part of it that doesn’t get the recognition, specifically when guys are doing it at a high level on both sides.”
Wembanyama understands there is not much more he can do to sway voter sentiment than he is already doing.
“For me, it comes down to something very simple, even if it’s easier said than done,” Wembanyama said in his native language when asked about the MVP race by a French reporter this week. “That is consistency — beating the top teams and, above all, dominating the other contenders for that MVP award.”
With Jokic and the Nuggets in town Thursday, Wembanyama will have another prime opportunity to state his case.
If past is precedent, at some point Wembanyama will stride to the free-throw line and the partisan home crowd with have an opportunity to cast its unofficial vote.
“M-V-P.”
Nobody in San Antonio would disagree with that.
“I think the individual stuff that goes into being the best or one of the most valuable — offense, defense, the boards, everything that goes in between — he’s at the forefront of those things,” Johnson said. “It’s always great opinion and barber shop talk to argue that stuff, but to say he’s not in the conversation at this stage would be hard to argue.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News