The trio undoubtedly set itself apart throughout 2025-26.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, now the back-to-back NBA Most Valuable Player, helped lead Oklahoma City to a 64-win season en route to the No. 1 seed. Victor Wembanyama became the youngest and first unanimous winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award, and muscled San Antonio back to the postseason for the first time since 2019. Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic, the three-time league MVP, finished the season as the assists (10.7) and rebounds (12.9) per game leader.
See how the three superstars' seasons matched up, as well as where the race stood at the end of the regular season.
2026 NBA MVP finalists
Winner: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Point guard | Oklahoma City Thunder
68 games | 31.1 PPG | 4.3 RPG | 6.6 APG
Center | Denver Nuggets
65 games | 27.7 PPG | 12.9 RPG | 10.7 APG
Forward | San Antonio Spurs
64 games | 25.0 PPG | 11.5 RPG | 3.1 APG
Tim Bontemps' MVP pick
Just as he did in ESPN's final MVP straw poll of the season, Gilgeous-Alexander sits atop my ballot, and he should become the 16th multiple-time MVP in league history. His individual brilliance, along with driving the Thunder to 64 wins while the team fended off injury issues and the Spurs down the stretch, kept him No. 1.
The biggest debate was Jokic vs. Wembanyama for the second spot. Both have impressive cases.
Jokic became the first player to lead the NBA in rebounds and assists per game and averaged a triple-double for a second consecutive season. Wembanyama, meanwhile, is the first player to average 25 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks since Shaquille O'Neal in 2000, and the Spurs outscored their opponents by a staggering 17 points per 100 possessions with Wembanyama on the court.
Ultimately, I focused on "valuable" here and used the minutes gap between the two as a tiebreaker. Jokic played 2,265 compared with Wembanyama's 1,866, a significant enough difference to tip the debate slightly toward Jokic.
The NBA's ruling simplified the final two choices. Doncic led the league in points per game (33.5), 30-point games (28) and 40-point games (14) while keeping the Lakers in the mix for a top-three seed all season. Cunningham's breakout powered Detroit to its best season in a generation.
Read more on Tim Bontemps' picks for the NBA's top individual awards.
NBA MVP Straw Poll 3.0
Since Feb. 1, the San Antonio Spurs have won 27 of 29 games to force their way into the mix for the NBA's best record.
As a result, 22-year-old phenom Victor Wembanyama has forced his way to the top of the NBA's Most Valuable Player discussion, with a chance to become the first player to win the award as early as his third season since Derrick Rose did so 15 years ago.
But will the Spurs' 7-foot-4 big man actually challenge Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who can become the 14th player in league history to win back-to-back MVPs and the 16th to win it at least twice?
According to ESPN's third and final NBA MVP straw poll of 2025-26, Wemby's late-season push will fall just short.
In a poll of 100 NBA media members conducted Monday through Wednesday, Gilgeous-Alexander leads our ballot with only 10 days left in the regular season. The 27-year-old guard's clutch play has allowed the defending champions to overcome injuries throughout their rotation and remain a step ahead of the Spurs.
And, despite Wembanyama's late charge, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic's continued otherworldly play and Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic coming off a 600-point month -- the first in March since Michael Jordan in 1987 -- Gilgeous-Alexander remains comfortably in front. SGA landed the top spot on 88 out of 100 ballots while picking up nine second- and three third-place votes for a total of 958 points, 300 clear of Wembanyama.
Read more from Tim Bontemps on the NBA MVP Straw Poll 3.0.
Betting impact
The MVP race was hugely impacted by the NBA's 65-game rule. All of the major contenders for MVP suffered injuries at some point in the season that led to extended absences, and when they did their MVP odds cratered. Among the finalists, Wembanyama suffered his injury first in mid-November, then Jokic in late January and Gilgeous-Alexander in February. But while Wemby's and Jokic's injuries projected that both could miss the 65-game threshold and thus plummeted both's MVP odds on DraftKings, SGA's injury never truly threatened his eligibility so his odds never slid. Plus, when he returned he did so with a 36-point explosion that touched off a scorching finish for the Thunder that secured them the top overall seed and may have secured him his second straight MVP ahead of Wemby and Jokic.
Interestingly, the analytics may tell a different story. In recent years, the impact stats have correlated well with the MVP. Particularly, Jokic has been the king of on-court/off-court +/- for the past several seasons that correspond with his run of top-2 MVP finishes. But this season, Jokic was surpassed by Wembanyama, who leads the league with the Spurs scoring margin improving by 16.0 points per 100 possessions with him on the court versus with him off. Jokic (13.5 PP100) and SGA (12.6 PP100) both measured well in this impact stat as well, but when Wembanyama made his public case for MVP by saying he believed he had the biggest impact in the NBA due to his blend of defense and offense, there is tangible data to support his argument.