Victor Wembanyama Reacts to SGA Winning MVP After Spurs' Game 1 Win

The San Antonio Spurs powered their way to a 122-115 double-overtime Game 1 win on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, behind their extraordinary big man.

Victor Wembanyama put on a historic performance, scoring from everywhere on the court to rack up 41 points. He was also outrebounding everyone, accumulating 24 boards over the course of the six quarters of basketball.

Add in three assists, three blocks, and one steal for an out-of-this-world effort achieved by the former No. 1 pick who is only in his third year.

He was also third in the recent NBA Most Valuable Player voting, and on Monday night watched as Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander claimed his second-straight MVP. That may have been a motivator for the Spurs’ big man.

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During Wemby’s postgame press conference, a reporter asked if any part of his night felt “personal” after SGA had won the award, and he was "in the top three for it."

“Yeah, for sure. Everything you just said,” the Spurs big man responded without further elaboration, but none was necessary after his dominant performance in Game 1.

Wemby campaigned for himself as the MVP during the regular season, explaining why he believed he deserved the award. However, the final vote revealed that SGA was the clear winner.

Wemby received five first-place votes, 36 second-place votes, and 47 third-place votes among his totals for the MVP voting. He finished with 569 points, which was 65 behind the second-place contender, Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets.

Shai received an overwhelming 83 first-place votes and 939 points to claim his back-to-back MVP. However, teammate Alex Caruso outscored him with a team-high 31 points off the bench in Monday’s losing effort.

A lot of the Spurs players were excited after Monday’s Game 1 win, but they also needed rest. Wemby logged 49 minutes on the court in his amazing performance. Stephon Castle also put in 49 minutes, while starting teammate Devin Vassell had a team-high 51 minutes of action on the court.

Not only did Wemby make a statement in Game 1, but the Spurs did as well. This young team, featuring three players drafted within the top four in the past three seasons, came out and gave OKC a battle, showing that the champs will have to put in a lot more work to solve the Spurs’ dominant big man and talented roster.

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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 6:49 AM.