Victor Wembanyama has officially met the 65-game requirement for major yearly awards. As the favorite for Defensive Player of the Year and the leader of the Kia MVP Ladder, this is huge news. Other significant candidates for MVP have either missed this threshold or are still at risk to. These players include Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Cade Cunningham.
Victor Wembanyama Qualifies For Awards vs. Mavericks, Drops 40
Victor Wembanyama Continues To Show Off His Offense
Dropping 40 points in only 26 minutes, Wembanyama looked more than 100% in his return. Before his minor rib injury, he had increased his scoring with back-to-back 41-point games and a 34-point outing. He only scored 17 when he went down against Philadelphia. Being told by Udonis Haslem that he “only” scores 24, Wembanyama has seemingly taken this criticism to heart. Not only was his performance against the Dallas Mavericks impressive, but it also improved his average to 25 points per game.
In a previous article, I set a goal for Wemby. If he can keep his scoring above 30 for the rest of the season, he greatly increases his MVP case. With only one game left, this is very possible if you don’t count the game he got injured in. Entering the Spurs’ Sunday duel with the Denver Nuggets, a legitimate question lingers: will Wemby play?
After qualifying for awards and coming off a recent injury, the Spurs organization may want him to sit out. However, the last game of the season can leave a lasting impression. For instance, no one would say “he doesn’t score enough” if Wembanyama drops 45 in the last game of the season, a mark he could reach on any given night.
Should The NBA Have A Games Played Requirement For MVP?
Already eliminating some of the best players in the league, the NBA’s games played requirement is now infamous to fans. Only two players have won MVP in the past 25 years without playing 65 games. The two players who didn’t had already won MVP and were only a few games away from reaching that threshold. These players are LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. So why did the NBA create the rule in the first place? To stop load management.
However, this reasoning appears to have already aged poorly. Players like Doncic and Cunningham had unfortunate injuries that stopped them from qualifying. Those who have a history of sitting out back-to-backs — such as Kawhi Leonard — aren’t in contention for major awards. It seems more likely that the 65-game rule will make the league’s greatest awards less competitive. Even worse, players might try to play through injuries and end up in worse shape for the playoffs.
The league could easily loosen this restriction. For instance, 60 games would be enough to qualify every MVP candidate in the past 25 years. But more importantly, why have the rule in the first place? MVP voters already know that players who play less have less of a case. For NBA fans, their favorite player’s health is the priority. For a player like Wembanyama or Cunningham, who are both young and the future of their franchises, one injury could change everything for them. Player safety should be the big picture, not making everyone play 65 games.
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