NBA: Victor Wembanyama out of Top 5 in MVP race, according to other players

He must have distributed too many vexing counters to be acclaimed by his peers. This Friday, The Athletic published its traditional anonymous poll devoted to the race for the MVP. The American media asked a simple question to around 160 NBA basketball players: which player deserves the title of best player of the season? Surprise, Victor Wembanyama is not in the Top 5.

The 22-year-old Frenchman only lands in sixth position in this unofficial, but influential, ranking. The San Antonio Spurs star only received 5% of the vote. Finding the title holder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the lead with 39% of the votes and Nikola Jokic in his wheel with 21.4% of the votes is less surprising. On the other hand, seeing Jaylen Brown, Cade Cunningham and Luka Doncic come between the two leaders and “Wemby” with 8.2% each is more surprising.

Leader of the “Race”

Indeed, the pivot currently occupies the head of the “Race to the MVP”, a series published every week on the official NBA website. For two scores, the Ile-de-France resident has been ahead of “SGA” and Jokic. However, this is not an official ranking, but rather a way to maintain discussions and debate around this MVP race throughout the season.

If the journalists are responsible for electing the winner, the poll carried out by The Athletic is far from trivial. In 2025, the players voted for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City leader indeed won this individual trophy for the first time in his career. A year earlier, basketball players had also predicted Jokic’s coronation, like that of Joel Embiid in 2023.