This year’s NBA MVP race is coming down to the wire, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama leading the pack.
However, according to veteran NBA analyst Skip Bayless, the Los Angeles Lakers could hold the key to Wembanyama’s MVP fate.
Skip Bayless Builds Hype for Upcoming Lakers-Thunder Clashes With Bold MVP Take
Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma City Thunder (60-16) and Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs (58-18) sit neck-and-neck atop both the Western Conference standings and the NBA as a whole, with just six outings remaining.
With the MVP race being so close, some analysts are expected to base their vote on which team secures the final edge. Gilgeous-Alexander has been the league’s second-most prolific scorer for the defending NBA champions (31.6 points per game), extending his historic 20-point game streak.
The reigning MVP trails only Lakers superstar Luka Dončić (33.8 ppg), whose MVP case has been hindered by early-season defensive lapses.
Meanwhile, Wembanyama has been the league’s most dominant two-way force, delivering nightly double-doubles and elite rim protection for the surging Spurs, winners of 10 straight games. The 22-year-old also holds the narrative advantage, having spearheaded San Antonio’s turnaround since last year’s lottery finish (34-48).
Wembanyama had his way against the shorthanded Golden State Warriors in Wednesday’s 127-113 road victory to the tune of 41 points and 18 rebounds. During the lopsided affair, Bayless took to X to theorize about how Dončić and Co. could decide the MVP race.
Two of the Lakers’ remaining six contests will come against OKC, on the road on Thursday and at home next Tuesday. According to Bayless, back-to-back victories for the Purple and Gold could give Wembanyama the final push needed to prevail.
“The Lakers could win the MVP for Wemby by beating OKC twice in 6 days and opening the back door for the Spurs to slip past the Thunder and win the West,” Bayless wrote.
The Lakers could win the MVP for Wemby by beating OKC twice in 6 days and opening the back door for the Spurs to slip past the Thunder and win the West.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 2, 2026
If Bayless’ hypothetical scenario comes into play, the Spurs’ emphatic 4-1 record against the Thunder this season will likely be a major storyline.
An MVP triumph for Wembanyama would make him the youngest player to capture the NBA’s most prestigious regular-season award, edging out Derrick Rose, who did so at 22 years and 191 days old in 2011.
Such an outcome would fortify the French phenom’s argument to be the next face of the league. If Wembanyama were to follow that up by leading San Antonio to an NBA title in Year 3, that would only further cement his all-time great career trajectory.
