By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2026-03-24 10:00:38
迈阿密——凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 遇到了个麻烦。实际上，他现在有点恼火。他不明白为什么维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 不是那个显而易见的 MVP。对于这位 NBA 最著名的“气氛组”成员之一来说，这件事简直再明显不过了。
周一晚上，在圣安东尼奥马刺队以 136-111 大胜迈阿密热火队后，他只围着一条浴巾站在那里。起初，他只是对自己没能稳拿“年度最佳第六人”感到困惑。他刚刚打爆了该奖项的主要竞争对手之一——热火队侧翼小海梅·哈克斯 (Jaime Jaquez Jr.)，并且由于这是他本赛季第 12 次替补登场砍下 20+，他感觉相当良好。他觉得关于这个奖项的争论应该结束了。
我向他解释了迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 刚刚如何在新闻发布会结束时顺带为约翰逊拉票，以及这种造势如何有助于塑造并催化舆论风向。我们讨论了投票者如何在进攻影响力、球队战绩和故事性之间寻找平衡，从而选出获奖者——这在很多方面与 MVP 的竞争如出一辙。
就在那时，约翰逊大声宣布，文班亚马是毫无争议的 MVP，这甚至不应该成为一个话题。那一刻，文班本人正走向几英尺外的更衣柜，把脚浸入冰桶里。文班现在坐到了这场“表演”的第一排。
当约翰逊列举文班亚马应该当选的理由时，我提出了一些反驳观点，从他赛季初的伤病限制，到他的比赛在赛季过程中仍需成熟。我解释了谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 正在打出近段时间以来后卫球员最出色的赛季之一。我甚至透露，我交流过的几位投票者告诉我，如果马刺队能冲到榜首，他们就会投给文班。
这时，文班亚马插话了。
在更衣室里，你很难忽视约翰逊的任何奇思妙想。他嗓门大、风趣且充满激情。和他聊天从来没有“安静”一说，无论话题是关于羊驼、他最喜欢的赛前补充剂（名单很长），还是为什么（在此处插入队友名字）配得上（在此处插入奖项名称）。
因此，文班亚马加入对话是必然的，而且他带着问题而来。
他想知道我有多看重防守，并提出论点：既然防守占据了比赛的一半，而他在防守端的表现又如此异于常人，那么他比该奖项的主要竞争对手们更有价值。
随着对话的深入，他的“竞选纲领”围绕三个论点展开。
“我的第一个论点是，防守占据了比赛的 50%，而到目前为止，这在 MVP 评选中被低估了，”文班亚马说道。“我相信我是联盟中防守影响力最强的球员。第二个论点是，我们本赛季几乎横扫了俄克拉荷马城雷霆队，我们在他们全主力出战时统治了他们三次，在他们派出更多轮换球员时又赢了一次。我的第三个论点是，进攻影响力不仅仅体现在得分上。”
当文班亚马说防守是比赛的一半并应被同等对待时，我提到甚至可以认为对于大多数中锋来说，他们的角色可能更接近 70% 的防守，而后卫则反之。但他对被贴上“中锋”标签嗤之以鼻。在主场比赛中，他被介绍为一名前锋，这绝非偶然。
这是他的核心逻辑：他完全与众不同，用常规的 MVP 标准来衡量他，根本跟不上他的进化速度。即使是尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokić)，也有效率正负值（BPM）等指标来捕捉其进攻影响力是多么具有开创性。文班正在防守端做着约基奇在进攻端所做的事情，但我们目前还没有广泛可用的数据来衡量这一点。
每晚观看文班亚马的比赛，总会有几次“那到底是什么鬼”的时刻。那些被称为“文班式惊叹 (WembTFs)”的瞬间，让观众在感到不可思议的同时又满心困惑。你如何去量化一个实时发明篮球新玩法的人的价值？
以他周一对诺曼·鲍威尔 (Norman Powell) 的盖帽为例。文班亚马故意让鲍威尔从底线突破过去，意图是封盖鲍威尔的篮下出手。这是他大多数晚上都会使用的策略，诱使突破者认为他们真的可以偷袭成功。有时对方能打成，但他正在想出更多的应对方案来阻止这些球。这一次，他决定绕过鲍威尔的头顶，在篮筐的另一侧完成封盖，这在理论上是不可能做到的。
追防封盖。
策动空接。
完成空接。
转换进攻暴扣。
维克托·文班亚马，你不是在开玩笑吧
pic.twitter.com/io0S9ve0vN
— NBA (@ NBA) 2026年3月23日
文班亚马认为，他的防守影响力将改变围绕 MVP 竞争的讨论，使其不再只关注进攻，而是将防守视为评价体系中平等的一部分，而非仅仅是一个附加的加分项。
“这会随着时间推移而发生，”文班亚马说。“如果过去几年有更多像扬尼斯·阿德托昆博 (Giannis Antetokounmpo) 这样的球员，也许防守会得到更多的认可。我不知道。”
当话题转到进攻时，文班亚马解释了他的影响力如何超越了得分。他的顺下引力已经变得极其恐怖，每次他冲向禁区都能吸引对方一半的防守兵力。他声称自己看过数据，显示他在联盟最高效顺下球员的排名中与约基奇并驾齐驱，不过他要求进行更多研究以深入探讨。
我们探讨了如何将他那种超凡脱俗的高光表现与吉尔杰斯-亚历山大像节拍器一样的稳定性进行比较。相比于一位全联盟表现最稳的控卫，你该如何衡量文班亚马那一连串令人震惊的表演的价值？你如何评估文班的顺下引力、他的防守向进攻的高效转化，以及他所做的其他一切干扰对手的行为？
在进行了大约 10 分钟的往复辩论后，我举起双手说道：“等等，为什么我要在这里充当反方？我并不一定不同意你的观点！”
我陈述了这样一个论点：因为他本赛季进步的速度在明星球员中罕见，所以现在就给他这个奖项可能会有些反直觉。他的赛季表现具有如此独特的历史意义，以至于没有正确的方式来将其语境化。在联盟历史上，很难找到一个人能在单一赛季内变得如此具有统治力的例子。
他问我谁是 NBA 最好的球员。我告诉他，现在就是他。至于这种状态是否持续了足够长的时间来赢得奖项，则是仁者见仁智者见智。三周后常规赛结束时，我们就会知道确切答案。
文班反驳道，他现在在攻防两端都极具统治力，这足以弥补赛季初的缓慢起步。
在整个辩论过程中，文班亚马展现了他具备成为一名天生媒体人的潜质。事实上，他一点也没有煽动性。他的自我认知非常出色，他的自尊心从未越界。
他征询我的意见，并有条理地进行反驳。他思维敏捷而不咄咄逼人。他那探究和好奇的天性体现在他生活的方方面面。这次也不例外。
支撑这一切的是他的信心，他相信自己会采取必要行动来说服世界他就是 MVP。我也向他解释说，他可能会赢得如此多的 MVP，以至于在他的下一份合同到期前，我们就会开始讨论“投票者审美疲劳”了。他的回答是，第一个是最重要的，所以那是他唯一关心的。
他正试图积极地造势，同时又不显得迫切。时间会证明公众是否买账。我发现他的专注更多地表现为一种成为最强者的渴望，而不仅仅是寻求认可。
当他在新闻发布会上被问及问题时，他经常会陷入长时间的沉思，肯定比我接触过的任何其他球员都要长。那种沉默显得很有分量，让他的回答带有一种与他身材相称的厚重感。
长时间的停顿可能会让你怀疑他是在翻译思绪，还是在进行深度思考。但在这次辩论中，他表现得比我见过的任何时候都要活跃和敏锐。
周一晚上在迈阿密，维克托·文班亚马在为自己的 MVP 竞选再次打出了强势表现。(Megan Briggs / Getty Images)
一度，文班亚马不得不离开更衣室，但他仍在另一个房间里大声说话，以便我们可以继续对话，这段对话一直持续到他走向正式新闻发布会：穿过卡塞亚中心的后廊，一直走到讲台。这是一场移动版的《First Take》，只是少了一些喊叫。
另一位目睹了这场辩论的记者问他的第一个问题，是一个略带戏谑的问题：他是否考虑过 MVP 的事。
“是的，至少在过去的 15 分钟里一直在想，”文班亚马笑着说。“我确实考虑过。我认为现在存在争议。应该有争议，尽管我认为我应该领跑这场竞赛。我会努力确保到赛季结束时，不再有任何争议。”
目前，他必须保持每晚的统治力，而他的球队需要跟上西部榜首雷霆队的步伐。他的马刺队在整个赛季中都在进步，并且在季后赛临近之际已成为一支名副其实的劲旅。他们在过去的 24 场比赛中赢下了 22 场，但仍落后于势头强劲的雷霆队 3 个胜场。
文班亚马可能无法抹平差距并扭转那些仍在观望排名变化的投票者的心意。无论如何，他仍在以历史级的速度进步，他热切追求的那个奖项迟早会属于他。
尽管他在辩论中是个公平的竞争者，但他对我没有完全同意他的观点还是感到有些沮丧。我有我的保留意见，他有他的坚持。但我们谁都不怀疑他最终会达到那个高度。考虑到四个月前他甚至很难在防守压力下运球，而现在我们竟然已经在讨论这个话题，这本身就像他在对阵热火时传出的那个单手传球一样令人震惊。
没有人怀疑文班和马刺队是否会达到那个目标。这只是时间问题。
“我认为对我们来说，不跳步是非常重要的，”他说。“但我们上台阶的速度确实非常快。”
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：Victor Wembanyama says he’s the NBA MVP. I asked him to debate his case
Victor Wembanyama says he’s the NBA MVP. I asked him to debate his case
MIAMI — Keldon Johnson has a problem. He’s actually kind of pissed off. He doesn’t get why Victor Wembanyama isn’t the obvious MVP. It just seems so obvious to one of the NBA’s preeminent hype men.
He’s standing there in just a towel after his San Antonio Spurs wiped the floor with the Miami Heat, 136-111 on Monday night, initially just puzzled that he himself isn’t a lock to win Sixth Man of the Year. He had just lit up one of his top competitors for the award, Heat wing Jaime Jaquez Jr., and was feeling himself a bit after his 12th 20-point game off the bench this season. He felt like the debate over the award should be over.
I explained to him how Dylan Harper had just concluded his news conference with a quick plug for Johnson’s candidacy, and how campaigning helps shape and catalyze the narrative. We went over how voters balance offensive impact, team success and narrative to figure out a winner for an award that in many ways resembles the MVP race.
That’s when Johnson loudly declared that Wembanyama is the runaway MVP and it shouldn’t even be a debate. At that moment, the man himself walked to his locker just a few feet away and dropped his feet in an ice bath. Wembanyama was now buckled into a front row seat for the show.
As Johnson listed his reasons why Wembanyama should win, I provided counterpoints ranging from his injury limitations earlier in the year to his game needing to mature over the course of the season. I explained how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having one of the best seasons by a guard we’ve seen in some time. I even revealed that several voters I’ve spoken with have told me that if the Spurs reach the top seed, they would vote for Wemby.
That’s when Wembanyama chimed in.
It’s hard to ignore Johnson musing on anything in the locker room. He’s loud, hilarious and passionate. There is no such thing as a quiet conversation with him, whether it’s about llamas, his favorite pre-workout supplements (the list is long) or why (insert teammate here) deserves (insert award here).
So it was inevitable that Wembanyama would enter the conversation, and he had some questions.
He wanted to know how much I valued defense, laying out an argument that because defense is half the game and his is such an outlier, he’s more valuable than his main competitors for the award.
As the conversation evolved, his campaign took shape around three talking points.
“My first one would be that defense is 50 percent of the game and that is undervalued, so far, in the MVP race,” Wembanyama said. “I believe I’m the most impactful player defensively in the league. Second argument would be that we almost swept OKC in the season and we dominated them three times with their real team and four times with the, you know, more rotation players. My third argument would be that offense impact is not just points.”
When Wembanyama said that defense is half of the game and should be treated as such, I mentioned that you could even argue that for most centers, their role is probably closer to 70 percent defense, and vice versa for guards. But he scoffed at the notion of being labeled a center. It’s not an accident that he is introduced as a forward at home games.
That was his through line: he is just completely different, and judging him on the usual merits of MVP doesn’t match his rate of innovation. Even Nikola Jokić had box plus-minus metrics to help capture how groundbreaking his offensive impact is. Wembanyama is doing for defense what Jokić did for offense, but we don’t have widely-available data to measure that yet.
There are several “what the hell was that” moments per night when watching every Wembanyama game. WembTFs, plays that leave you as bewildered as you are amazed. How do you quantify the value of someone inventing new ways to play basketball in real time?
Take his block Monday on Norm Powell as an example. Wembanyama let Powell get by him on a baseline drive with the intent of blocking Powell’s layup. It’s a ploy he breaks out most nights, baiting a driver into thinking they can actually sneak one by him. Sometimes they pull it off, but he is coming up with more answers to prevent those. This time, he decided to reach around Powell’s head to block him on the other side of the rim, something that’s not really supposed to be possible.
RECOVERS FOR THE BLOCK.
THROWS THE LOB.
FINISHES THE LOB.
SLAMS IT IN TRANSITION.
VICTOR WEMBANYAMA, YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS
— NBA (@ NBA) March 23, 2026
Wembanyama thinks that his defensive impact is going to shift the conversation around MVP races away from an offensive focus, treating defense as less an add-on qualifier and more an equal part of the rubric.
“It’s going to happen (over) time,” Wembanyama said. “If there were more players like Giannis (Antetokounmpo) in the past years, maybe defense would have been more recognized. I don’t know.”
As the conversation transitioned to offense, Wembanyama explained how his impact goes beyond scoring. His roll gravity has become absurd, drawing in half of the defense every time he hits the paint. He claimed he has seen data that shows he is neck-and-neck with Jokić as the league’s most effective roll man, though he asked for more research to dive deeper into it.
We examined how to compare his unworldly highs with Gilgeous-Alexander’s metronomic relentlessness. How do you value the litany of shocking plays Wembanyama makes compared to a point guard who is the most consistent player in the game? How do you evaluate the effect of Wembanyama’s roll gravity, the fact that his defense transitions into offense so effectively and everything else he does that messes with the opponent?
After around 10 minutes of back and forth, I threw my hands in the air and said, “Wait, why am I being the straw man here? I don’t necessarily disagree with you!”
I laid out the argument that because he has improved this season at a rate we’ve rarely seen from a star player, it could be counterintuitive to give him the award. His season is so historically unique that there is no right way to contextualize it. It’s just hard to find an example in the history of the league of someone who has grown so dominant within one season.
He asked me who the best player is in the NBA. I told him that, right now, it’s him. Whether that has been true for enough time to win him the award is in the eye of the beholder. We’ll know for sure in three weeks, when the regular season ends.
Wembanyama countered that he is so dominant at both ends now that it would make up for the slow start.
Throughout the debate, Wembanyama showed he would be a natural media member. In fact, he wasn’t inflammatory at all. His self-awareness was exceptional. His ego never crossed the line.
He asked for my opinions and countered them methodically. He was quick-witted without being overbearing. His inquisitive and curious nature shows in so many facets of his life. This was no exception.
Underpinning everything was his confidence that he will do what it takes to convince the world he is the MVP. I also explained to him that he’s probably going to win so many MVPs that we’ll be talking about voter fatigue before his next contract expires. His response was that the first one is the most important, so that was all he cared about.
He is trying to aggressively campaign without coming across as desperate. Time will tell if the public buys it. I found that his focus came across as a desire to be the best, more than a desire for validation.
When he’s asked a question in a news conference, he will often sit with his thoughts for an extended pause, certainly longer than any other player I’ve been around. The silence sits there heavily, giving his answers the kind of weight you’d expect from someone of his stature.
The long pauses can make you wonder if he is translating his thoughts or just pondering deeply. But in this debate, he was as lively and sharp as I had ever seen him.
Victor Wembanyama put forth another strong display in his case for MVP on Monday night in Miami. (Megan Briggs / Getty Images)
At one point, Wembanyama had to leave the locker room, but kept loudly talking from the other room so we could continue the conversation, which lasted through him making his way to his actual news conference: walking down the Kaseya Center back hallway and all the way up to the podium. It was “First Take” on the move, with a little less shouting.
The first thing he was asked, by another reporter who witnessed the debate, was a facetious question of whether he’s given MVP any thought.
“Yeah, for the last 15 minutes, at least,” Wembanyama said with a laugh. “I have thought about it. I think right now, there is a debate. There should be, even though I think I should lead the race. And I’ll try to make sure that by the end of the season, there’s no debate.”
For now, he has to keep dominating every night and his team needs to keep up with the Thunder at the top of the West. His Spurs have progressed throughout the season, and are a bona fide contender right as the playoffs approach. They’ve won 22 of their last 24 games, but still sit three games behind the surging Thunder.
Wembanyama may not be able to close the gap and flip those voters waiting to see how the standings shake out. Either way, he’s still progressing at a historic rate, and the award he is fervently campaigning for will inevitably be his at some point.
As fair a competitor as he was in a debate, he was a bit frustrated that I didn’t completely agree with him. I had my reservations and he had his. But neither of us doubted that he will eventually get there. The fact we were having this conversation so soon, considering how hard it was for him to even dribble through traffic four months ago, was as shocking as a one-handed pass he threw against the Heat.
Nobody wonders if Wemby and the Spurs are gonna get there. It’s just a matter of when.
“I think it was important for us to not skip steps,” he said. “But we definitely walked up the steps really quick.”
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic