Devo

Relatability does not = American. He just kept narrowing it. First face of the league, then relatability, then sneakers. That didn’t make the take stronger, it just made the argument smaller. And that’s where the bias starts to show. Luka became the first international player to lead jersey sales, and Wemby is already top 4 this season. International stars already connect with fans and move merch. This is a global league. Outdated take. ⌛️ #porvida #nba

@DaigMuse He already told people what time it was. Put teams away, don’t play down, leave no debate for MVP. So calling this stat padding feels like people skipping the context just to run with a narrative. 😐

Because the media won’t tell you: Wemby is currently stat padding in the 4th quarter while the Spurs are up 30pts on the Bucks💀

@JamboDro @FlukaMagic I got you! Minutes matter, but they are not the whole MVP case. If more minutes automatically meant a stronger MVP case, then everybody above Cade in minutes with strong production would be getting real MVP buzz too. They’re not. That’s the point. 🤗

@OahuStylezz @FlukaMagic You not making sense at all 😭

Very important to add Luka Doncic has played 496 more minutes than Wemby and SGA has played 346 more minutes than Wemby Cade Cunningham, who will be ineligible for awards, has played 396 more minutes than Wemby, and will finish the season with more minutes played than Wemby

Calm down lol. The ladder, the straw poll, and Polymarket are all different things. The ladder is just NBA.coms ranking, the straw poll is closer to actual voter lean, and Polymarket is just traders putting a price on what they think happens. That’s why Wemby can be No. 1 on the ladder while Shai is still No. 1 where it matters most. 👀😬

@goldenspirit155 Interesting take, and there’s some truth to that. MVP talk gets offense heavy fast because scoring, assists, and team record are what voters lean on most, unless someone’s defense is impossible to ignore *cough Wemby cough* 🤧

What’s so funny about the NBA MVP discourse is how the most valuable archetype in the league is the 2 way player by nature, EXCEPT when it comes to the MVP award apparently. How convenient.

Yeah I hear you. If your point is voters have treated playoff experience like it matters, that’s fair. I just think the outliers still matter because they show it was never some hard requirement. And those outliers weren’t random Pettit, Wilt, and Unseld were special cases for their era. That’s why I don’t think it’s some wild take to say Wemby could be that exception too.

I get what you’re saying. If almost every MVP had playoff experience, that’s not nothing. Fair. I just don’t think that by itself makes it part of the criteria, especially when MVP is a regular season award. Are you saying playoff experience should actually be part of MVP criteria, or are you just saying history shows voters have treated it that way? Because those are two different arguments.

Insanity. We have reached insanity levels. There’s zero reason Wemby should be up there.

This sounds more like emotion than actual game analysis. Slurs, small sample stats, and “it’s just genetics” isn’t analysis. Being above .500 without Vic for a short stretch doesn’t mean he isn’t impactful, it just means they held up for a few games. If it was just height, every 7-footer would look like him. They don’t. It’s the coordination, timing, touch, recovery, and feel.

@dontbotherant @evlm130047877 @Novig @BallTalkO Sure 🤖 😂

How the MVP ladder works

@IrisOfTheEagle @LegendOfWinning That Embiid one has me 💀 but It’s the word “always” that breaks your point. If it’s best player on best team when that fits, but then “best story” when it doesn’t, then that’s not a standard at all. That’s just changing the explanation after the winner is already picked.

@OahuStylezz @LegendOfWinning SGA was the best player on the best team. Jokic will always have the "best story" narrative because he's a fat unathletic white boy dominating the league. Embiid got a "here nigga damn" MVP. Giannis was the best player on the best team

People have to understand that every year there will be a different standard to win MVP because every year there are different set of circumstances.

@IrisOfTheEagle @LegendOfWinning You can look at the last 5 years and disprove both of those talking points. 4 of the last 5 weren’t the best player on the best team, and if this was really about “best story,” Jokic isn’t stacking MVPs like that.

@LegendOfWinning MVP's have always been based on 1) best story 2) best player on the best team This has always been the standard since the 80's, nothing's changed

Jeremy has always been like this on social, little punches, little jokes, speaks his mind. Add the winky face and it feels more like a light jab than real hate. Especially when he already said he’d always be a Spur and he’ll always have love for San Antonio. I just don’t see bad blood there.

If any other former Spur said something remotely close to their new colors are “better” than the Silver and Black y’all allegedly bleed, y’all would be talking SO much shit But for whatever reason, Sochan Stans make an exception for dude who was good for 3 pts / 2 rebs on any given night

@ClanTheSpursFan If only he also played “Hakuna Wembata” it means no worries for the rest of Spurs days

He played Lion King because "a Wem away"

Thunder has the Knicks, Nuggets and Lakers twice

That’s really my issue with your take. Saying that’s all he is right now sells his defense way short. The Spurs funnel action to Wemby by design because his impact is way bigger than just blocking shots. It’s rim deterrence, help defense, rotations, and cleaning up mistakes. So what do you actually value most in a great defender?

@OahuStylezz @GetUpESPN @Espngreeny @BannedMacMahon That’s all he is right now, ppl get numbers on him all the time, he’s not a one on one lockdown defender, he’s a great help defender tho

"The second-best defensive player is miles away from Victor Wembanyama. ... Is he already the most dominant defensive player that we have ever seen in the NBA?" —@BannedMacMahon on the debate around Victor Wembanyama 🍿

@MarcJr24 @GetUpESPN @Espngreeny @BannedMacMahon I get pushing back on the “most dominant ever” part, because that’s how ESPN framed it. That’s fair to question. But saying Wemby is just a tall shot blocker is still selling it short. Those are two different arguments.

@OahuStylezz @GetUpESPN @Espngreeny @BannedMacMahon He’s not the best defender of all time brah

@MiroslavCuk @TheTyJager Total minutes are fair to bring up. I just think it gets weak when "less minutes = less impact" becomes the whole argument. Honest question though: Once a player clears the awards threshold, should more minutes decide it, or should actual impact still matter more?

@OahuStylezz @TheTyJager He has played in more total minutes than last year, because last year he played in fewer games. But the per-game production stayed the same. His total minutes this season are still way lower compared to some other league's stars, and you impact only the minutes you play in.

So let me get this straight: Wemby is averaging pretty great numbers, similar to last season, but in less minutes. How is this a bad thing exactly? Some would call this efficiency.

@MiroslavCuk @TheTyJager Can you clarify what Ty missed exactly? Are you saying the per game numbers are too similar to last year for the MVP leap people are talking about, or that the fewer minutes part hurts his case? Because those are two different arguments.

@TheTyJager read my tweet again.

@Wemby_Muse I lean mostly true. A lot of the pushback on Wemby’s MVP case isn’t really about his impact, it’s the team success excuse. If the Spurs are the 1 seed, that one gets a lot weaker, and it gets harder to keep reaching for other reasons to downplay him. 🙏

True or false: If the Spurs are the 1 seed, Wemby will win MVP

@camperry21 @NBA__Courtside Exactly! Honesty doesn’t automatically equal arrogance, especially when he was answering direct questions.

@OahuStylezz @NBA__Courtside Also he wasn't being arrogant either.

Nick Wright thinks it’s interesting the media isn’t criticizing Wemby for campaigning his MVP case when they usually always do when a player talks that way about himself: “Most in the media hate stuff like that… Typically a 22 year old who’s never won anything explaining to everyone how he’s the best player and not why his team is the best, but why he is the best. Typically the media scolds that. Not with this guy who since he’s came in the league has been telling us how the spurs play basketball the right way. The is characteristics of Wemby’s overwhelming arrogance that most of the media tends to scold in athletes but with the 22 year old french kid, everybody applauds it” (Via @LeBatardShow)