CBS Sports placed Victor Wembanyama at No. 1 in its top 100 rankings for the 2026-27 season, ahead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić. That ranking, combined with a preseason opener in which the 7-foot-4 center ran pick and roll as a ballhandler instead of a screener, has restarted the Victor Wembanyama best player debate before a single regular-season game has tipped off. The question is not whether Wembanyama belongs in the conversation. It is whether the preseason evidence and his 2026 postseason run are enough to put him ahead of Jokić and Gilgeous-Alexander right now.
A No. 1 Ranking Before The Season Even Starts
CBS Sports did not just include Wembanyama in its preseason list. It ranked him first overall for 2026-27, ahead of two players who have won recent MVP awards and led their own teams deep into the playoffs. That is a notable vote of confidence from a national outlet before a single regular-season box score exists.
Rankings published before games count carry real weight in shaping the national conversation. When a major outlet puts a 22-year-old center ahead of the reigning MVP conversation names, it signals that Wembanyama’s trajectory, not just his current production, is driving the Victor Wembanyama best player debate.
Fantasy Analysts See No Ceiling
NBA.com‘s fantasy preview named Jokić and Wembanyama as the consensus first two picks in nearly every format heading into the season. The same analysis described Wembanyama as a generational player with virtually no ceiling.
Fantasy value is not the same as real-world team success, but the pairing of Wembanyama with Jokić atop fantasy boards reflects how evaluators now view his statistical range. A center capable of affecting the box score at that level across categories is rare, and it is part of why his name sits alongside Jokić’s in the sport’s biggest individual-performance debates.
New Shades To His Preseason Game
In the Spurs’ preseason opener, a 123-116 loss to the Hawks, Wembanyama operated as the primary ballhandler in pick and roll sets rather than setting screens for guards. On one possession, he hit a stepback three-pointer over a screen after crossing twice to create separation from his defender.
Wembanyama addressed the work behind that expanded role directly. “I worked a lot, and I also worked on seeing more things and slowing the game down,” he said. “For me the challenge is always putting everything together because I’ve learned so many things, and I always step into the game, trying to apply some things. But I think the main thing is if I assess early, continuously, that’s when I can start putting everything together.”
That quote points to a specific offseason focus: game vision and decision-making, not just physical tools. A 7-foot-4 player who can run offense as a ballhandler changes what defenses have to prepare for, and it adds a new dimension to how he is measured against point-of-attack stars like Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Spurs’ Finals Run Raises The Stakes
Context matters here. San Antonio was the best team in the Western Conference last season, unseating the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, and advanced to the NBA Finals before losing in five games to the New York Knicks. That run puts Wembanyama’s individual case inside a larger team success story, which is typically part of how “best player” arguments get built.
His teammates are not shy about their own standing either. Spurs guard Dylan Harper said of himself and backcourt partner Stephon Castle, “The biggest thing is that we both think we’re the best guards in the NBA, plus [Sacramento’s De’Aaron] Fox.” That kind of internal confidence around Wembanyama suggests San Antonio’s locker room believes its best days are still ahead, with its franchise center at the center of it.
The Strongest Counterpoint: Known Vulnerabilities Remain
The case against crowning Wembanyama the league’s best player right now rests on specifics from his own postseason. Isaiah Hartenstein’s floater was described as the most dangerous weapon opposing centers have against Wembanyama, a shot that vexed him during the Western Conference Finals. If a particular shot from a particular opponent can consistently bother him, that is a real, documented gap rather than speculation.
There is also stiff competition on the perimeter. Donovan Mitchell’s teammate Donovan Thompson has been described as the best non-center defender in the NBA and the most disruptive perimeter player since Kawhi Leonard at his peak. That kind of individual defensive standard elsewhere in the league is a reminder that “best player” arguments do not rest on offense and rankings alone. Jokić and Gilgeous-Alexander both enter the season with their own finished bodies of playoff work, and preseason minutes, however encouraging, are not the same evidence.
What To Watch Next
The 2026-27 regular season opens this month, and how Wembanyama’s expanded ballhandling role holds up against regular-season defenses will be the first real test of the preseason buzz. Watch whether San Antonio keeps using him as a primary pick-and-roll operator once games count, and whether opponents find more answers like Hartenstein’s floater. The development of the Spurs’ young core around him will also shape how far San Antonio can build on last season’s Finals trip.
Wembanyama’s own comments suggest he sees the work as unfinished. His focus on learning to “assess early, continuously” implies he views the ballhandling additions as a tool still being integrated, not a finished product. That alone may be the most honest answer to the best-player question entering the season: the ranking has caught up to the ceiling, but the regular season will determine whether the floor has risen to match it.
Off the court, Wembanyama has also drawn attention for turning down a lucrative betting endorsement and for taking over as captain of the French national team ahead of 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifiers, both signs of how his profile continues to grow beyond the box score.
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