Not even two full weeks have passed since the 2025-26 NBA season began, but it's become very clear who will be in the MVP discussion throughout the year — a list that features several previous MVP award recipients and others who have finished inside the top five of the voting in recent years.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP, has the Oklahoma City Thunder as the only undefeated team at 7-0, and Victor Wembanyama continues to set new records that nobody in the NBA thought were obtainable. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic are also names associated with the MVP award, but there is a new contender rising in the ranks.
That would be Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, who is off to as fast and as dominant of a start as the others on this MVP list.
Last season was a lost cause for Maxey and the 76ers because of all the injuries that piled up. Maxey missed a total of 30 games and was shut down for the year due to a tendon issue in his finger.
The script has flipped this year in Philadelphia, as with Maxey at full strength, he has taken a massive leap forward in his sixth season.
Through the first six games of the 2025-26 season, Maxey is averaging 33.7 points, 9.0 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 46.3 percent from the floor. Not only is Maxey establishing himself as one of the best pure scorers in the league, but he is also finding ways to get others like VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes involved.
With Joel Embiid on a minutes restriction and Paul George still sidelined, Maxey has stepped up and taken the crown in Philadelphia. Now, he could be in store for much more this season, as he has entered the early-season MVP conversation.
However, whether or not Maxey can continue to perform at the level he is while playing some of the most minutes in the league is the question at large.
Previous 2023-24 NBA MVP Rankings: Week 1
1. Victor Wembanyama – San Antonio Spurs
Previous ranking: #1
2025-26 season stats: 6 games, 26.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 4.7 blocks, 1.3 steals, 52.7 FG%, 28.6 3P%
What Wembanyama has done to begin the season can't go unnoticed, and neither can the San Antonio Spurs being 5-1 through their first six games. Now that he is finally healthy and in the best shape of his life, Wemby has transcended himself into being the next face of the NBA with his video-game-like statistics and jaw-dropping plays.
Aside from being the youngest player in league history with a 40-point, 15-rebound game in a season opener, Wembanyama became the first player in NBA history with at least 150 points, 70 rebounds, 20 blocks, and five made threes over a five-game span.
Only two players in the last 25 years have averaged at least 30 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks per game over five games. Coincidentally enough, the other is fellow Spurs legend Tim Duncan.
Although he struggled in the Spurs' loss on Sunday, recording just nine points and nine rebounds, this doesn't overshadow the fact that Wembanyama has captivated the league through the first two weeks of the 2025-26 season.
It will be interesting to see if he can keep the Spurs in contention at the top of the West standings and continue his elite two-way production.
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks
Previous ranking: #4
2025-26 season stats: 5 games, 34.2 points, 13.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.2 blocks, 68.4 FG%, 62.5 3P%
The general assumption entering the 2025-26 NBA season was that the MVP award would go to one of the best players in the Western Conference who had their team at the top of the standings. That is why Jokic, Doncic, and Gilgeous-Alexander were the early favorites for the award.
However, the Eastern Conference is wide open this season, and Giannis Antetokounmpo is making the most of his opportunity to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to the top of the standings.
The Bucks are currently 4-2 this season, and Giannis has been on a tear in the five games he's played.
After becoming the first player to ever have 60 points, 30 rebounds, and 10 assists through his first 2 games of a season, Antetokounmpo set a new record. After a 37-8-7 game against the New York Knicks, Giannis became the first player to ever have 140 points, 50 rebounds, and 20 assists through the first four games of the season.
The only reason Giannis has jumped the likes of Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic for second on the MVP rankings through two weeks is because of where he has the Bucks positioned. If Milwaukee can continue to play at a high level and possibly compete for the 1-seed in the East, there will be a lot of noise surrounding Giannis' chances of winning this award for a third time.
3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
Previous ranking: #2
2025-26 season stats: 7 games, 33.6 points, 5.9 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 1.1 blocks, 52.6 FG%, 26.8 3P%
At what point do people stop criticizing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and give him credit for being arguably the best isolation player in the league right now? Say what you want about Gilgeous-Alexander only getting his points from the free-throw line, but the joke is on you because he is not even leading the league in free-throw attempts.
The Thunder star's efficiency is through the roof to begin the new season, and that is to be expected since he has been playing without Jalen Williams by his side.
At this point, who knows when the Thunder will actually lose their first game? Gilgeous-Alexander continues to elevate his play to new heights as an all-around playmaker, and his scoring numbers are higher than they were a season ago when he ran away with the MVP award.
This has a chance to be yet another historic, record-breaking season for the Thunder, which is why Gilgeous-Alexander is firmly in the MVP conversation once more.
4. Luka Doncic – Los Angeles Lakers
Previous ranking: #3
2025-26 season stats: 4 games, 41.3 points, 11.5 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 54.5 FG%, 29.2 3P%
When Luka has played this season, he's been sensational. The only problem, and the reason why he has dropped lower than others on the MVP rankings, is that he has played in four of the Los Angeles Lakers' seven games to this point.
The Lakers could not have asked for a better start to the season, and Doncic has his fingerprints all over it.
During the first week of the season, Doncic recorded back-to-back 40-point double-doubles. Upon returning from injury, Doncic had 44 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists in the Lakers' 117-112 NBA Cup win over the Memphis Grizzlies. On Sunday night, Doncic registered his first triple-double of the year with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in the team's 130-120 win over the Miami Heat.
That is now 165 points for Doncic in four games this season, which is the most a Lakers player has had in franchise history through the first four games of a season. Jerry West held the record since the 1969-70 season with 154 total points.
Doncic continues to write his name in Lakers' lore, and to be averaging over 40 points per game early on in the season is ridiculous. As long as he stays healthy, Luka will be in the MVP race.
5. Tyrese Maxey – Philadelphia 76ers
Previous ranking: #8
2025-26 season stats: 6 games, 33.7 points, 9.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 46.3 FG%, 46.4 3P%
The most unexpected player on the MVP ladder through two weeks has to be Tyrese Maxey. The reason he finds himself breaking into the top five and jumping Nikola Jokic in the rankings is not because he has a better shot of winning the award when you look at the whole season, but because he deserves recognition for the 76ers being at the top of the East.
With how wide open the Eastern Conference is this season, why can't the 76ers have a bounce-back year and claim the 1-seed?
This is what Maxey and the Sixers players asked themselves all offseason, and now we are seeing the product of their hard work. Maxey has been outstanding in the young campaign, leading the Sixers in scoring and ranking third in the league, behind only Luka and Giannis. He is also one of six players averaging at least nine assists per game.
The only problem with Maxey regarding the MVP race is whether he can continue to produce at this insanely high level while averaging a league-high 42.5 minutes per game. While he is turning 25 on Tuesday and is still young, Maxey hasn't played more than 70 games since his second season.
At some point, fatigue and heavy minutes will catch up to him, which is why his hot start could just be a case of early-season adrenaline. Not that Maxey isn't an All-Star and All-NBA player, but playing over 40 minutes per game and remaining available for Philadelphia just isn't a viable scenario to believe.
For now, we need to give Maxey and the 76ers credit for their 5-1 start to the season.
Just missing the cut
6. Nikola Jokic – Denver Nuggets [Ranked No. 5 last week]
7. Stephen Curry – Golden State Warriors [Ranked No. 6 last week]
8. Alperen Sengun – Houston Rockets [Unranked last week]
9. Jalen Brunson – New York Knicks [Ranked No. 7 last week]
10. Julius Randle – Minnesota Timberwolves [Unranked last week]
