San Antonio Spurs superstar Wembanyama has presented a strong case for why he should win the 2025-26 NBA MVP award. He cited his defensive impact, dynamic offensive contributions that range beyond scoring, and his team's success against those of his fellow candidates.
Unfortunately, when bringing up defense and urging voters to look beyond scoring, it's hard not to think of Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic. And analysts are already changing their minds.
On the offensive front, Doncic is currently on pace to win the 2025-26 scoring title. On the other end of the floor, he's long been known as a subpar defender. Though it's unfair to assume Wembanyama was taking shots at the Lakers star, it's impossible to ignore that they're both MVP candidates.
As such, when Wembanyama makes his case for MVP by commenting on specific areas in which Doncic is known to either specialize or struggle, it's hard not to start reading between the lines.
Asked Wemby to provide his 3 campaign bullet points for why he should be MVP https://t.co/HjRppaPLfY pic.twitter.com/FHXrFMjAi3
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) March 24, 2026
Though inadvertently, Wembanyama's comments unfortunately lean into a narrative that Lakers fans know all too well—and also know is false.
Victor Wembanyama highlights defense, urges voters to look beyond scoring in MVP voting
No one in their right mind would ever argue that Doncic, nor any other active player, is on the same level as Wembanayma on defense. Similarly, there's a welcome dose of nuance in Wembanyama's comments about how offensive quality should be evaluated.
For as fair as that may be, there's a fundamental issue with Wembanyama's assessment of what separates him from the pack in MVP conversations: It feeds into a dated Doncic narrative.
Though Doncic is by no means an elite defender, he's far from the liability that his reputation would suggest he is. He's become aggressive and proficient in creating turnovers, is one of the best defensive rebounders among perimeter players, and has even become more reliable in on and off-ball situations.
On a per-game basis, Doncic currently ranks No. 7 in the NBA in steals and No. 13 in deflections. According to Basketball Index, he ranks in the 53rd percentile in perimeter isolation defense.
None of those facts make Doncic an elite defender, but they speak to how he's far from the burden he was once known to be.
Luka Doncic is not the defensive liability he was once known to be
As far as the offensive conversation is concerned, Doncic isn't just leading the NBA in scoring at an absurd 33.4 points per game—1.9 clear of the next-leading player. He's also third in the NBA in assists per game at 8.4—1.8 more than the only other player averaging at least 30.0 points.
When factoring in assist points, Doncic is responsible for directly generating 55.2 points per game for the Lakers—trailing only Nikola Jokic at 55.4 for the NBA lead.
Furthermore, the Lakers are scoring a team-best 119.2 points per 100 possessions when Doncic is on the court and a team-worst 111.5 when he isn't. Doncic's co-stars, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, produce a net rating of -4.4 when he isn't on the court with them. They check in at +7.3 when he is.
That's the epitome of a player's offensive impact ranging beyond scoring, as Wembanyama himself described as a fair criteria.
This is in no way an attempt to imply that Wembanyama isn't a worthy MVP candidate. He undoubtedly is. Instead, it's commentary meant to push back against anyone who's hoping to utilize the Spurs superstar's comments as a means to downplaying Doncic's legitimacy as an option.
Though previous narratives may have supported such a cause, Doncic has disproven his reputation and thoroughly established the need to redefine his perception.