Over the last couple of seasons, the NBA MVP race has come down to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic battling for the award in the final weeks of the season. It seems like that is where we are heading yet again, but this time, Luka Doncic is the third horseman in this race.
What Luka has done so far this season for the Los Angeles Lakers, despite missing four games, has been incredible.
Aside from leading the Lakers to a 15-4 record, trailing only Gilgeous-Alexander's Thunder in the Western Conference standings, Doncic has led the league in scoring all year. Not to mention, he is the main catalyst behind the Lakers going 4-0 in their NBA Cup group and having a chance to go back to Las Vegas and possibly become the first two-time champions of the In-Season Tournament.
For the last several years, Los Angeles had been run by LeBron James. The Lakers revolved around him, and he needed to be at his best for the team to have any chance of competing for a title.
That is no longer the case, as the Lakers have clearly become Luka's team, and for the first time in his career, LeBron is no longer the alpha on his team. So far, that has not been an issue, as Los Angeles has gone 4-0 in the games James has played.
More importantly, Doncic has continued to thrive since LeBron's return, and he has scored at least 30 points in six straight games. He will look to extend this streak on Monday night to seven games against the Phoenix Suns.
Very little separates all three MVP candidates to this point in the season.
While Luka leads the league in scoring and is taking the Lakers to new heights, Gilgeous-Alexander continues to push the Thunder into unseen territory. At 20-1, Oklahoma City is certainly on pace to potentially break the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors' 73-win record.
Of course, then there is Jokic, who continues to fill the box scores with his triple-double-like performances and keeps the Denver Nuggets afloat without Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon.
Although this race is extremely tight entering the holiday season, it's still Gilgeous-Alexander's to lose.
Previous 2023-24 NBA MVP Rankings: Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1
1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
Previous ranking: #1
2025-26 season stats: 21 games, 32.5 points, 6.6 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 54.5 FG%, 41.1 3P%
Gilgeous-Alexander has not scored below 23 points in a game this season, and he added three more such performances to his resume this past week. That takes his streak of consecutive 20-point games up to 93, which passed Wilt Chamberlain (92) for the second-longest such streak in NBA history.
Now, Shai turns his attention to doing this 33 more straight times in order to tie Chamberlain's NBA record from 1961-63.
What makes Gilgeous-Alexander the favorite for the MVP award, aside from the Thunder's dominance, is the fact that he isn't playing many fourth quarters and is still averaging the numbers he is. If Shai played the same amount as Jokic, Doncic, and others, he would probably be leading the league in scoring and have even higher secondary statistics.
Unless Oklahoma City falls off a cliff or SGA gets hurt, it's hard not to see him at the top of these MVP rankings.
2. Nikola Jokic – Denver Nuggets
Previous ranking: #2
2025-26 season stats: 19 games, 28.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, 10.9 assists, 1.5 steals, 63.7 FG%, 45.3 3P%
The biggest advantage Nikola Jokic has right now compared to others is that it's clear to see his MVP impact. Denver is battling and fighting through multiple injuries, attempting to find production from new faces in new positions, and yet Jokic has single-handedly put the team on his back and has the Nuggets at 14-5 in the Western Conference.
Not to mention, Jokic has not missed a single game this season.
Jokic currently ranks first in triple-doubles (10), rebounding, and assists, and he ranks seventh in scoring. The Nuggets star is also one of 23 players with at least 28 steals this season, proving that he impacts the game on both ends of the floor.
He doesn't trail Gilgeous-Alexander by much in the NBA MVP rankings, and some would even give Jokic the early edge right now.
3. Luka Doncic – Los Angeles Lakers
Previous ranking: #5
2025-26 season stats: 15 games, 35.1 points, 9.2 assists, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 47.1 FG%, 33.9 3P%
In three games last week, Luka averaged 37.3 points (first in the NBA), 10.3 assists, and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the floor and 45.5 percent from 3-point range. That is why he was named the Western Conference Player of the Week.
His best performance came on Tuesday in the Lakers' third NBA Cup game against the LA Clippers, as Doncic tallied 43 points, 13 assists, and nine rebounds to lift his team to a 135-118 win.
This 43-point performance by Doncic resulted in him passing Magic Johnson for 10th on the team’s all-time 40-point list in just his 41st game as a Laker. That is an absurd statistic, and there are so many other accolades worth mentioning for Doncic, but we simply don't have the time here.
If Luka can keep up his scoring numbers and keep the Lakers in the win column, he will be right there with Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic in the MVP race.
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks
Previous ranking: #3
2025-26 season stats: 15 games, 30.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.0 blocks, 64.3 FG%, 45.5 3P%
Without Giannis Antetokounmpo on the floor, the Milwaukee Bucks went 0-4 and found themselves in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. While they still lost once Giannis returned, it is clear to see that Antetokounmpo is having to carry the Bucks to wins.
Upon returning from his four-game hiatus as a result of a left groin injury, Giannis recorded 30 points, 15 rebounds, and eight assists in 28 minutes against the New York Knicks. The very next game, Antetokounmpo had 29 points and eight rebounds in just 19 minutes.
These are MVP-like numbers from Giannis once again, but the problem is that his team simply isn't good enough for him to be in the running for MVP. Although he is probably the most valuable player in the NBA by definition of the phrase, he has no shot of winning the award so long as SGA, Jokic, and Doncic have their respective organizations at the top of the West standings.
5. Cade Cunningham – Detroit Pistons
Previous ranking: #4
2025-26 season stats: 17 games, 28.8 points, 9.4 assists, 6.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 45.6 FG%, 31.2 3P%
Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons saw their 13-game win streak snapped this past week, and they lost back-to-back games for the first time all year. Even so, Cunningham was still masterful, averaging 33.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game while shooting 49.5 percent from the floor this past week.
He is the main reason why the Pistons sit at the top of the East standings entering December, and Cunningham has put his team in a position to win every single game. Like Gilgeous-Alexander, he makes those around him better, and the team is able to go as far as he is able to lead them.
That is why the Pistons have a terrific chance to finish the season at the top of the East, leading to his MVP resume.
Just missing the cut
6. Victor Wembanyama – San Antonio Spurs [Ranked No. 6 last week]
7. Alperen Sengun – Houston Rockets [Ranked No. 7 last week]
8. Jalen Johnson – Atlanta Hawks [Ranked No. 9 last week]
9. Donovan Mitchell – Cleveland Cavaliers [Ranked No. 8 last week]
10. Tyrese Maxey – Philadelphia 76ers [Unranked last week]
