Will it be a sweeping year for Victor Wimpanyama? All eyes are on the French giant, who aspires to lead the San Antonio Spurs to the NBA title, and perhaps also to win the Best Player of the Season award. “It changes everything, really,” says “The King” LeBron James with the start of the 2026-2027 season. The French giant breaks the rules with his unique playing style and his exceptional ability to perform multiple roles despite his height of 2.24 meters, in addition to his tremendous defensive capabilities.
After being unanimously crowned the best defender in the league last season, Wemby appears to be a strong candidate to retain the award in his fourth season. Spurs has all the ingredients to win the title, having come out of an exceptional season that far exceeded expectations, and gained the experience of playing in the league final, despite losing the decisive series to the New York Knicks 1-4, a loss that he hopes will be an incentive in his new quest for the summit.
The 22-year-old French star, who achieved outstanding numbers last season with an average of 25 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, said: “We are full of hope and ambition.” San Antonio has a young and very talented squad, which includes the promising duo Stephon Castle (21 years old, 16.7 points average), and Dylan Harper (20 years old, 11.8 points average).
During the preparation period for the new season, the club added an important piece to its project by including veteran Tobias Harris (34 years old), who has great experience and is able to enhance the team’s strength under the basket. The powerful centre-back is even seen as the most underrated signing of the summer, according to a pre-season survey of general managers of the league's 30 clubs.
But the most prominent candidate does not always win, as the competition seems fierce with several teams, most notably the New York Knicks, who are seeking to retain the title, and the star-studded Oklahoma City Thunder, led by Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the Best Player award twice. Therefore, Wimbanyama realizes that he needs to develop himself further.
His coach Mitch Johnson - who has been leading Spurs since May 2025, succeeding the legendary Gregg Popovich, who won five titles with the club - confirms that “he can improve in all aspects.” The coach has already explained what he expects from his French star, which is for him to become more influential in playmaking and a key player in distributing balls, similar to the role played by Serbian giant Nikola Jokic with the Denver Nuggets.
This role is essential if Wambanyama wants to win the Best Player of the Season award. “He has to be consistently decisive and effective,” former Canadian playmaker Steve Nash says on the Mind the Game podcast. The winner of the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 2005 and 2006 added: “He could have really won the award last season. The difference is that people look carefully at the player who is able to decide matches for his team in the last moments, and this is not necessarily what distinguishes him so far.”
Wimbanyama, who realizes that he has a large margin for offensive development, came third in the last vote for the Best Player Award, behind winners Gilgeous-Alexander (31.1 points per game) and Jokic (27.7 points and 12.9 rebounds).
The mental aspect remains an important factor. Vuimbanyama loves ambition and the spirit of competition, but he is also required to overcome the bitterness of loss. American Gilbert Arenas, the former Washington Wizards star, says: “When you think about the way the Spurs lost to the Knicks, it must have been very painful. Therefore, with the start of the new season, they must enter the competitions with the mentality of a killer immediately.”
As for the French star, whose physical stamina increased after the World Championship, during which he captained the French national team and won the silver medal, he confirms that what happened last June was “the biggest lesson” in his life. Wimbanyama has the personality of a leader and his confidence on the field, where he continues to guide his teammates and demonstrate the winning mentality that distinguishes him.
Since joining Spurs as the first choice in the 2023 Draft, the team has continued its gradual progress: placing fourteenth in its first season, then thirteenth in the second season, then reaching the league final in the third season. If this upward curve continues, the only remaining option is: winning the NBA title.
The German football team Borussia Dortmund traveled to Azerbaijan; In preparation for facing Sabah, in the Champions League, tomorrow, Tuesday, without midfielder Konstantinos Karitsas.
“Karitsas suffers from a ligament injury,” sporting director Lars Ricken told reporters before traveling on Monday. He will not travel to Baku and will also not be able to play against Eintracht Frankfurt next Saturday.”
The 18-year-old player was injured during the match, which ended in a goalless draw against Union Berlin, in the German League, at the weekend.
Ricken continued: “This is clearly annoying, but to be honest, we feared the worst, after we saw the reaction of his teammates when he was lying on the field and limping off the field.”
The match, which will be held in Baku, will end an intense week of travel for Dortmund, as the team had faced Bodø/Glimt in Norway, and then traveled to Berlin and Baku, where Dortmund covered approximately 11,300 kilometres.
Lothar Matthäus, the German football legend, demanded that Niklas Volkrug return to the German national team. Matthews wrote in an article for Sky on Sunday evening: “The numbers speak for him, even if he is of a certain age.” Jurgen Klopp wants to rebuild the German national team, but the young players still suffer from significant fluctuations in their levels.”
He added: “Having an experienced player like Volkrug will give the team a good feeling.”
Volkrug returned to Werder Bremen this season, the club he left in 2023 to join Borussia Dortmund. In 2024, he moved to West Ham, but he suffered a lot due to injuries. Volkrug plays for Bremen on loan from West Ham, and has scored 7 goals in 7 matches this season in all competitions so far.
“Volkrug feels comfortable in Bremen, you can see that,” Matthews said. At West Ham and Milan, he did not feel the warmth, attention and confidence that he currently enjoys at Werder Bremen.”
On the other hand, Volkrug does not want to talk about the national team. Volkrug said after scoring two goals in the match in which Bremen drew with Paderborn last Saturday 2-2: “Even if I said 44 times that I do not want to talk about this matter, it would be good if we did not talk about it.” Volkrug has not been called up to the German national team since September 2025.
