The NBA Awards season has officially arrived, and the league wasted no time making history. Last night, the basketball world stood still as Victor Wembanyama was crowned the first unanimous NBA Defensive Player of the Year since the award’s inception in 1982-83. At just 22 years old, “Wemby” became the youngest player to ever hoist the trophy and the first to do so within his first three seasons since David Robinson in 1992.
Despite a season-ending injury last year, Wembanyama returned with a vengeance in 2025-26. Averaging fewer than 30 minutes per game, he led the San Antonio Spurs to their first playoff berth in six years with a staggering 62-win season. His stat line, 25 PPG, 11.5 RPG, and a league-leading 3.1 BPG, solidified his place not just as a defensive anchor, but as an MVP finalist. Should he win the top honor, he would surpass Derrick Rose as the youngest MVP in league history.
The Triple-Threat Race: SGA, Jokic, and the “Unreachable” Standard for Luka
While Wembanyama’s meteoric rise is the headline, he joins a finalist circle featuring the two previous winners: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic. Jokic continues to etch his name into the pantheon of greatness, becoming one of only eight players in history to finish in the top three of MVP voting at least six times.
However, the narrative seems to favor SGA for a second consecutive season. Leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the best record in the league while finishing second in scoring, Gilgeous-Alexander is on the verge of joining 12 legends who have won the award back-to-back.
This leaves Luka Doncic in a familiar, albeit frustrating, position. For the second time in three seasons, Doncic led the league in scoring with 33.5 points per game, while ranking third in assists (8.3) and pulling down 7.7 rebounds. He remains the only player in NBA history to average a 30/7/7 stat line on a 50-win team and not walk away with the MVP, a feat he has now remarkably achieved twice.
While the NBA and NBPA granted him eligibility via the Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge (after he played 64 games, just one shy of the 65-game rule), the “Luka Snub” feels more narrative-driven than performance-based.
Offensive Mastery vs. Defensive Narrative: Why Luka’s 2026 Season Was Historic
The debate often shifts to the defensive end when comparing Doncic to finalists like Wembanyama or SGA. It is true that Wemby and Shai are elite, multi-positional defenders, but their individual offensive creation does not mirror the “one-man-army” efficiency of Doncic.
Even Nikola Jokic, who is widely considered the best offensive engine in the game, isn’t a defensive specialist, yet he is consistently rewarded for his total impact. Luka’s ability to combine high-volume scoring with elite playmaking puts him in a tier of his own, yet he remains the player “looking over his shoulder.”
At 27 years old, Doncic is entering his absolute prime, yet the window to win an MVP is becoming increasingly crowded. With the “Wemby Era” officially beginning, Jokic dominating at will, and Shai building a potential dynasty in Oklahoma City, the bar for Luka has been raised to an almost impossible height.
To win over the voters in 2027, it appears Doncic may need to do the unthinkable: average 35+ points, secure a 65+ win season, and claim the #1 seed in the Western Conference. If he doesn’t, he risks becoming the greatest player in the history of the sport to never hold the MVP trophy.
