Victor Wembanyama Addresses MVP Chatter Amid Spurs Win Over Thunder

San Antonio Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama had to watch Oklahoma City Thunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander receive the MVP award on Monday night.

Wembanyama then stole the show in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals with 41 points and 24 rebounds in a 122–115 double-overtime victory. The NBA defensive player of the year addressed besting Gilgeous-Alexander’s squad on such a big night for the two-time MVP and defending NBA champions.

“The message would be that we as a team are ready to go into any environment, any place, against anybody,” Wembanyama told reporters afterward. “Even though we’ve still got a lot to learn, our effort should be over everybody else’s. Tonight, we were relentless.”

San Antonio had six players in double figures and two with double-doubles, including Wembanyama. Spurs guard Dylan Harper posted 24 points and 11 rebounds plus seven steals.

The Spurs haven’t played in a Western Conference finals game since 2017 before many of the team’s players were in the league. San Antonio did it against a Thunder team that reached the Western Conference finals for a second consecutive year.

“A game like tonight is the best way to get experience,” Wembanyama said. “We played five quarters. So, we’re learning, and by the time we get the experience, we’ll compensate with our effort.”

“We want to win everything, and we have the chance [because we] have people above us in the organization that know how to do that,” Wembanyma added. “So far, it looks like they’ve put the right people together to give us a chance. Right now, we’ve got a chance.”

A former No. 1 pick in 2023, Wembanyama helped the Spurs leap from a six-year range of 22–34 wins to 62 wins this year in the regular season. Despite his prowess as the league’s top defender and key role in a major franchise turnaround, Wembanyama finished third in the MVP voting behind Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.

“Yeah, for sure,” Wembanyama told a reporter asking if he may have taken the MVP snub a bit personally, giving him fuel to work harder. “Everything you just said.”

It didn’t surprise Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson. He has been working with Wembanyama from day one as an assistant coach in 2023 to his current role when he took over for Greg Popovich early last season.

“He’s competitive,” Johnson told reporters afterward. “To see the other competitor [with] the trophy he deserves voted the winner, if you’re a competitor and you see another competitor get rewarded with what you want, that’s motivation.”

“We all get motivated by different things, and I don’t want to speak for him. But as a competitive person, that would be my approach and perspective,” Johnson added.

Wembanyama also made the win possible by shutting down Thunder center Chet Holmgren, who had eight points and eight rebounds. Wembanyama also forced the second overtime with a three-pointer.

“His level of physicality and execution through physicality was tremendous,” Johnson explained. “His rebounding obviously showed in the box score, but what was off the charts was defensively, he was in his stance almost all night. That’s 49 big minutes, and it was high level for the majority of those.”

Gilgeous-Alexander, meanwhile, scored 24 points and dished 12 assists in the loss. He expressed his dissatisfaction with coming away with a loss on the night he won the MVP.

“We just got to be better—me, in particular,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters afterward. “I have to be better, especially against a team of this caliber. Nothing more than that.”

Oklahoma City will get another shot on Wednesday with Game 2 at home. The Spurs have a 5–1 record against the Thunder this season.

“I know what my teammates are capable of, what we’re capable of as a team when we bring it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s just unfortunate that I wasn’t able to bring my best game tonight, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”

“Sometimes, you’re your best version, sometimes you’re not,” he added. “You’ve got to roll with the punches, don’t get discouraged and stay true to who you are.”