Spurs' Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle & Dylan Harper listed as early frontrunners for major NBA awards

Spurs' Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle & Dylan Harper listed as early frontrunners for major NBA awards originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Dynasties don't just appear out of nowhere in the NBA. They are built over years of front-office hiring, coaching staff revamps, offseason acquisitions, strong drafting, and player development. This is exactly what the San Antonio Spurs did. For the 2026-27 NBA season, every member of their organization will be awarded. ESPN projects Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and even Coach Mitch Johnson as frontrunners for major awards.

From Coach Johnson to Wembanyama: a lot of Spurs are NBA award frontrunnersCastle & the NBA MIP

ESPN just unveiled its Summer Forecast, and a lot of Spurs are expected to take home hardware in major NBA awards. Let's break them down, starting with Stephon Castle. Projections posit that the incoming third-year player will become the frontrunner for the NBA's Most Improved Player of the Year award.

1. Stephon Castle34 points2. Cason Wallace32 points3. Dylan Harper21 points4. Amen Thompson20 points5. Kel'el Ware17 points

Notably, Castle isn't the only Spurs player vying for the NBA MIP award, as ESPN also projects Dylan Harper to take home the hardware. However, this seems like Castle's award because Harper has better odds of winning another award, which we'll discuss later.

Area 51 dimes 👽🛸

For NBA Assist Week, take a look back at some of the exciting highlight-reel passes Stephon Castle & Wemby threw each other last season!

(via @spurs)pic.twitter.com/CyHQmJAu6L

— NBA (@NBA) August 26, 2026

When looking at his 2026-27 NBA season Per 36 Minutes projections, Castle does look like a strong frontrunner in terms of taking a leap. Whether he becomes a secondary All-Star to help Wembanyama get a complementary two-way shot creator is still a question, but the numbers are irrefutably huge.

Castle's 2026-27 Per 36 Minutes ProjectionsPTSFG%3P%FGAASTTRBSTLBLKTOVWS/4820.3.467.32615.07.76.11.40.43.40.096

Of course, the NBA MIP award necessitates that a player has a drastic increase in production on both ends of the floor - one that contributes more to winning than in previous years. If Castle's Per 36 projections hold, he will rack up career-highs in points (previous 16.7 PPG), assists (previous 7.4 APG), rebounds (previous 5.3 RPG), steals (previous 1.1 SPG), and blocks (previous 0.3 BPG). All of these also mean that he will take up more space in the Spurs offense despite increases in production from Harper, Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox, and Tobias Harris.

More: Stephon Castle reveals he has been working hard to improve his perimeter shooting

Castle has a bigger edge over Wallace, Thompson, and Ware because the Spurs have given him ample postseason experience to refine his regular season production.

Harper & the NBA 6MOTY

Next, ESPN projects that Dylan Harper is a front-runner for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. The incoming second-year Spurs player is the second-favorite to win the NBA 6MOTY, wedged between Oklahoma City Thunder's Alex Caruso and Ajay Mitchell.

1. Alex Caruso34 points2. Dylan Harper23 points3. Ajay Mitchell22 points4. Reed Sheppard

20 points

Harper will likely make the biggest jump in production among the Spurs players. When his projections are looked at, many will likely proclaim that he is on the trajectory of being an NBA All-Star. If he does end up winning the hardware, there will be questions about whether the Spurs can afford him moving forward. Otherwise, his fate could be split between being Manu Ginobili in the Spurs dynasty for a long time or becoming James Harden, who departs to become a first option.

DYLAN HARPER?!?

WOAH 😳 pic.twitter.com/XIxB5Ynaks

— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2026

The Spurs do have a plan for the latter, especially after Wembanyama took a $50 million pay cut in his supermax deal.

Harper's 2026-27 Per 36 Minutes ProjectionsPTSFG%3P%FT%FGAASTTRBBLKSTLTOVWS/4819.2.518.360.77215.06.15.70.61.32.2.120More: Spurs' Dylan Harper predicted to make James Harden-like leap & win NBA 6MOTY

Caruso is surely a daunting nemesis in the NBA 6MOTY race, but Harper has one edge. He doesn't have to compete with another award frontrunner for bench production if Coach Mitch Johnson runs his rotations right. Ajay Mitchell will also try to grab every chance so he takes home the hardware over everyone else, including his own Thunder teammate. At that point, they will be locked in a zero-sum production battle that could give Harper a chicane such that he overtakes the others.

Wembanyama, the NBA MVP and DPOY

To no one's surprise, Victor Wembanyama is projected to be ESPN's clear favorite in two major awards: the NBA Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year. It's not hard to see why he'll likely win NBA DPOY in 2026-27 and beyond. He is literally the most technically skilled and physically imposing player the league has seen. There is even a case that he runs away with the title of 'best defender of all-time' by the middle of his career. So, who's in contention for second place and just how far ahead is the Spurs superstar in terms of projections?

1. Victor Wembanyama108 points2. Giannis Antetokounmpo20 points3. Chet Holmgren13 pointsT-4. Amen Thompson12 pointsT-4. Bam Adebayo12 points6. Rudy Gobert10 points

No one comes close to Wembanyama in defensive prowess. But the Spurs superstar does have bigger fish to fry - the Michael Jordan Trophy. How does he fare in those projections? The gap between him and his competitors is very similar; the names in contention just changed.

1. Victor Wembanyama102 points2. Nikola Jokic31 points3. Luka Doncic28 points4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander26 points5. Giannis Antetokounmpo8 points

These other superstars in the running for the NBA MVP award are either getting a new secondary star or their teams have freed up space for them to operate in a heliocentric manner. Jokic is getting a new running mate in DeMar DeRozan, which could boost his assist numbers and offensive efficiency. Doncic no longer has to share the floor with LeBron James, so an increased offensive burden in creating assists and scoring more points is to be expected. Gilgeous-Alexander lost key contributors in Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe, which means his numbers will also balloon. Lastly, Antetokounmpo joins a Miami Heat squad with championship hopes, surrounded by other high-volume rebounders and scorers who will stuff the paint.

More: Why Spurs' Victor Wembanyama is ESPN's runaway 2027 NBA MVP favorite

A common denominator among all of these players is that externalities within their teams will play a big role in their NBA MVP campaigns. Wembanyama doesn't have to rely on similar seismic rotational and schematic changes. The Spurs superstar's projected production all has him creating his own opportunities on both ends of the floor.

Wembanyama's 2026-27 Per 36 Minutes ProjectionsPTSFG%3P%FT%ASTTRBBLKSTLTOVFGAWS/4829.1.507.357.8304.113.43.91.33.220.2.192

Wemby and the Spurs defend home court, force Game 7 back in Oklahoma City‼️

28 PTS
10 REB
3 BLK
2 STL
4 3PM

Victor Wembanyama is the first player in Spurs franchise history to record 25+ PTS, 10+ REB, 2+ STL, and 2+ BLK in an elimination game! pic.twitter.com/PEAmNvlVFp

— NBA (@NBA) May 29, 2026

Wembanyama will surely lead the league in blocks and other huge defensive metrics. If these projections also stand the test of time and he reaches the 65-game threshold, the Spurs superstar could also wind up among the leaders in points and rebounds to seal his first NBA MVP trophy. After falling short during the 2025-26 season, it is very much certain that he is hungry to win the award in his fourth season in the league. Moreover, he will further his legacy with a second NBA DPOY as he approaches legendary defensive territory touched only by Ben Wallace, Rudy Gobert, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Dikembe Mutombo.

Coach Johnson and the NBA COTY

All these awards will matter only if Coach Mitch Johnson converts an overflowing cup of talent into wins. ESPN thinks the Spurs head coach has the ability to do so. He ranks as the second-favorite to take home the NBA Coach of the Year award, but the difference between him and the frontrunner is a singular point.

1. Rick Carlisle33 points2. Mitch Johnson32 points3. Will Hardy28 points4. Chris Finch20 points5. Nick Nurse19 pointsMore: Why ESPN forecasts Thunder will win 2027 NBA Finals, not Knicks, Spurs or 76ers

Usually, the NBA COTY is determined either by a team that surpasses expectations after unfortunate rotational issues (i.e., superstar season-ending injuries) or by the team with the best record in the league. For Coach Johnson to edge out Coach Carlisle, the Spurs need to have an undeniable season record. Projections posit that the Western Conference champions are gunning for exactly that. Pundits know that they will have the best record in the league.

1. San Antonio Spurs62-202. Oklahoma City Thunder60-22T-3. New York Knicks53-29T-3. Detroit Pistons53-29T-5. Cleveland Cavaliers51-31T-5. Denver Nuggets51-31T-5. Houston Rockets51-31

If all of these projections happen for the Spurs, the NBA could very well see the rise of a new dynasty. The 2000s had the Lakers; the 2010s were shared between the Heat and Warriors. With these projected accolades for Castle, Harper, Wembanyama, and Coach Johnson, the 2020s have the Spurs' names stamped all over it.