2026 NBA MVP finalists announced: Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic and Wembanyama
2026-nba-mvp-finalists-gilgeous-alexander-jokic-wembanyama
The NBA on Tuesday revealed its three finalists for the 2025-26 Most Valuable Player award: Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama.
Regular-season performance
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander appeared in 68 games and averaged 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists. The 27-year-old guided the Thunder to a league-best 64–18 record and is seeking a second consecutive MVP trophy.
Nikola Jokic, a three-time MVP, played 65 games and posted 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists. He became the first player to lead the league in both rebounds and assists per game while averaging a triple-double for a second straight season.
Victor Wembanyama logged 64 games with 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists. The 22-year-old earned the Defensive Player of the Year award unanimously, the first time that has happened, and helped San Antonio reach the postseason for the first time since 2019.
Media voting snapshot
ESPN reporter Tim Bontemps placed Gilgeous-Alexander first, Jokic second and Wembanyama third on his official ballot. His ranking mirrored the final ESPN MVP straw poll, in which 88 of 100 participating media members listed Gilgeous-Alexander at No. 1. Wembanyama and Jokic split most of the remaining top-three votes.
Playoff context
All three finalists are competing in the current playoffs. Oklahoma City holds the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, San Antonio is No. 2 and Denver is No. 3, making a postseason matchup between at least two of the candidates unavoidable.
The winner of the 2026 MVP award will be announced later in the postseason calendar.
Source: ESPN
