Paul Pierce & Dwight Howard Make Bold Statements on Victor Wembanyama After Spurs Reach NBA Finals

The hype around Victor Wembanyama felt different when he arrived in the NBA in 2023. The Frenchman wasn't viewed as just another promising rookie but as a potential all-time great. Fast forward to 2026, and he already appears to be well on his way to living up to those lofty expectations, especially following the Spurs' victory over the OKC Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.

Wembanyama averaged 28 points and 11 rebounds per game, winning the WCF MVP, as he and the Spurs dethroned the defending NBA champs. And two NBA legends in particular felt it was an era-defining series.

Three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Dwight Howard, took to X to write, "Safe to say Wemby should've won MVP."

Sadly for Howard, Wembanyama's numbers simply weren't enough to beat out Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic in the MVP race. He averaged 27.6 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in the regular season, but it was only good enough for third position.

That said, keeping the MVP aside, Wemby's performances in the 26/27 season certainly signaled a shift in the league's landscape, as pointed out by Paul Pierce. The Celtics legend was impressed that Wemby led the Spurs to the Finals in his first-ever post-season in the NBA, and remarked that it's the start of a new beginning for him.

"He got his team to the Chip first year in playoffs," Pierce said on X. "This may be the start of the Wembanyama era right now when u type in Victor on Google, his name is first lol."

Wemby was one of this season's finalists for the MVP award alongside SGA and Jokic. However, he received just five first place votes, whereas Jokic received 10 and SGA received 83.

That said, Wembanyama did win Defensive Player of the Year. He received all 100 first-place votes, making him the first-ever unanimous winner in league history.

Wembanyama will now get a shot at leading his team to a championship at just 22 years old. The Spurs haven't won a title since 2014, when Gregg Popovich was at the helm alongside stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. Wemby is now just four wins away from cementing himself as a Spurs icon, just like them.

“You work all these hours, it’s for these types of emotions,” Wembanyama said after accepting his WCF MVP trophy. “I want to win so bad. It’s like my life depends on it.”

Records set by Victor Wembanyama in the Western Conference Finals

At only 22 years old, Victor Wembanyama is already setting records left and right. The San Antonio Spurs 2026 postseason story is not yet over, and he already has multiple playoff records.

Through the first three rounds of the postseason, the 7-foot-4 Frenchman rejected a total of 60 shots. With those blocked shots, he not only knocked George Gervin out of the top 10 for most career playoff rejections in Spurs history, but also leapfrogged multiple players on the list.

Currently, he is tied with Robert Horry for the fifth-most, and he is only two blocks away from surpassing Ginobili. With the Finals still upcoming, it won't be a surprise if he surpasses the Argentinian legend by several rejections.

The game that really helped Wemby reach the number of blocks he has so far was Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. In their first game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he ended up rejecting 12 shots.

That, in itself, is a playoff record, surpassing the previous mark of 10 held by Mark Eaton, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Andrew Bynum.

Aside from establishing himself as one of the best postseason rim protectors, he also joined elite company with an impressive 40-20 stat line.

In Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, he recorded 41 points and 24 rebounds. With that performance, he became the youngest player to post those types of numbers in the playoffs. He also joins Shaquille O'Neal as the only other player in the past 25 years to accomplish this in a Conference or NBA Finals.