Victor Wembanyama set to make Spurs history after being NBA MVP, DPOY finalist originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The 2025-26 season is the safest time to say that the San Antonio Spurs have found their star of the future. Victor Wembanyama has been named a finalist for both the NBA Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards. While it is still a question if he will be able to win over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, the superstar big man will be set to make franchise history while joining greats like Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan.

The Spurs are a home to a lot of all-time great players. Victor Wembanyama is just the latest addition to that list. His nomination for NBA MVP marks the fourth opportunity of the franchise to notch the award. Notably, Tim Duncan won the award twice in 2002 and 2003. David Robinson was the other Spurs player who grabbed that piece of hardware when he won it back in 1995.

Wembanyama will be competing against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic for the NBA MVP. The Spurs superstar is the only finalist who was not won it yet. Gilgeous-Alexander secured the honor once in 2025. Meanwhile, Jokic has won it thrice and is gunning for his fourth NBA MVP trophy in six years.

On the other hand, Wembanyama is the clear favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year. If he does so, he brings home the fifth DPOY trophy for the Spurs and becomes the fourth person in franchise history to win it, via Basketball Reference. Wembanyama joins an exclusive Spurs DPOY winners list which includes Alvin Robertson who won in 1986, David Robinson who took home the award in 1995, and Kawhi Leonard who notched the honor twice in 2015 and 2016.

This is only the start of Wembanyama's greatness. If he is able to clinch both the NBA MVP and DPOY, the Spurs are on track to be the home of the greatest player of all-time. Will Wembanyama be able do do it?