Steve Nash chose Victor Wembanyama for MVP, and said the pick was not what he expected when he started writing the awards column. He also said he could not fight against any other argument in a race this tight.
The call puts Wembanyama ahead of Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Dončić in a season Nash described as crowded with worthy winners. Dončić is technically not eligible under the NBA’s 65-game rule, but Nash still grouped the four stars at the top of the race as players who would each deserve the trophy.
The numbers Nash cited show why the choice was so difficult. San Antonio allows about 13 fewer points per 100 possessions when Wembanyama is on the court. Denver scores about 15 more points per 100 possessions in Jokić’s minutes, while Oklahoma City scores 11 more points when Gilgeous-Alexander plays. Those margins do not settle the argument so much as explain why it has become so hard to separate the candidates.
The awards debate is getting tougher because NBA judging has become a moving target. Voters now weigh raw production, team impact and availability in a way that can change from one year to the next, and Nash said that shifting standard is part of what made this vote so hard to make. That is also why his choice landed the way it did: not as a statement that the others fell short, but as a verdict in a race where no case could be dismissed cleanly.
That tension is the story of this MVP chase. Jokić still has the profile of a player who can dominate both the stat sheet and the possession battle, Gilgeous-Alexander keeps Oklahoma City moving at an elite level, and Wembanyama has become a force on the defensive end in a way the numbers show plainly. Nash did not argue that the race was simple. He argued the opposite, and still chose Wembanyama.
