Wemby Suggests NBA MVP Snub Fueled Historic G1 After Spurs' Upset vs. SGA, Thunder

San Antonio Spurs superstar center Victor Wembanyama admitted Monday that finishing behind Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA MVP voting motivated his dominant performance in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

When asked by reporters if the snub galvanized him and made Game 1 feel personal, Wemby responded by saying, "Yeah, for sure, everything you just said."

In San Antonio's 122-115 double overtime win against OKC, Wembanyama finished with 41 points and 24 rebounds, making him the youngest player in NBA history with at least 40 points and 20 boards in a playoff game at 22 years and 134 days of age.

Spurs-Thunder Highlights

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After averaging 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 3.1 blocks, 1.9 three-pointers made and 1.0 steal per game during the regular season, Wembanyama finished third in the NBA MVP voting behind SGA and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić.

The 7'4" big man did win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, but he fell short in his pursuit of his first NBA MVP despite publicly making his case late in the season.

After Wemby's outing in Game 1 of the WCF, Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson agreed with the premise that watching Gilgeous-Alexander physically receive the MVP trophy before the start of the contest helped fuel Wembanyama.

"One-hundred percent," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "To see another competitor with the trophy that he deserves—[SGA was] voted the winner. But if you're a competitor and you see another competitor get rewarded with what you want—I don't think it had any effect on the game that didn't make him play harder than anyone else—but that's motivational."

Spurs guard Stephon Castle added, "We felt like that was his trophy. I'm sure [Wembanyama] felt the same way."

In addition to Wembanyama taking over Game 1, Gilgeous-Alexander largely struggled despite finishing with 24 points and 12 assists.

SGA shot just 7-of-23 from the field, turned the ball over four times and was a team-worst minus-15 when he was on the court.

It was an uncharacteristic performance by the reigning two-time NBA MVP and reigning NBA Finals MVP, and Wemby's outing put him under the microscope even more than usual.

Wembanyama's display and San Antonio's win perhaps shouldn't have come as a surprise since the Spurs went 4-1 against the Thunder during the regular season, it was a statement-making game nonetheless, and it set the tone for the WCF.