Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers made a big decision to help ice a critical win over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. The 7-foot-3

According to the NBA's most recent MVP ladder, Wembanyama is fourth in the running to win the Michael Jordan Trophy, behind only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. His two dominant performances against Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are key reasons why he jumped ahead from the fifth spot, passing Jayson Tatum.

The latter has turned around in a major way. Since Dec. 1, Wembanyama is making 37% of his 3s on over nine attempts per game. Put that together with his 77% finishing rate at the rim, which Cleaning the Glass ranks in the 86th percentile among all bigs, and Wembanyama already ranks as one of the most dominant inside-out scorers in the league.

The Bucks had a plan to make the second-year Spurs phenom uncomfortable. Antetokounmpo and his teammates executed that plan to perfection.

Milwaukee Bucks power forward Bobby Portis thinks that a recent foe, not his current two-time MVP teammate, is a contender to become the best defender in the history of the NBA. The 6-foot-10 Arkansas product,

Victor Wembanyama didn't back down from the challenge of going up against one of the best players in the NBA on Wednesday. As the San Antonio Spurs faced

Giannis Antetokounmpo fell just short of back-to-back triple-doubles, but the Bucks remain red-hot from long range in an easy victory over the Spurs.

Victor Wembanyama is currently averaging 4.0 blocks per game.

With 10:22 remaining in the first quarter, Wembanyama, with the ball near the top of the key, pump-faked a shot and got Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. to bite. Then, as if he was in a casual morning shootaround, Wembanyama took one dribble to his left and drilled a 28-foot, one-legged three-pointer as the crowd at the Fiserv Forum ooed and ahhed.

Although Wembanyama ate humble stew on Wednesday, his team remains afloat in the Western Conference NBA Play-In Tier as the 10th seed. However, San Antonio can't afford to play inferior to its opponents, as the Sacramento Kings have the same 18-19 record.

The NBA released its second update of All-Star balloting, with Spurs center Victor Wembanyama making a push up the rankings. Wembanyama is fourth among Western Conference frontcourt players in the latest count of fan votes. He was fifth in the first round of balloting released last week, but leapfrogged the Lakers' Anthony Davis.