All season, the NBA's MVP race has seemed to already be decided between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic. Sure, these are two of the premier stars in our game, but have either of the two recent MVPs exceeded expectations and put their team in an unexpected position to contend for a championship like Victor Wembanyama or others have?
Wembanyama was at the forefront of MVP talk earlier this season, but then he went down with a knee injury that resulted in him missing some time before the All-Star break. That resulted in him moving below Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic, and others in this MVP race.
Here we are now with five weeks to go in the 2025-26 NBA season, and Wemby's MVP case only continues to grow.
Not only is he leading the league in blocks by an insane margin and impacting every game so much as a rim protector standing in the paint, but his offensive efficiency has been among the best in the league since the All-Star break.
Of course, there is also the fact that he has elevated the San Antonio Spurs back into title-contending status. After missing the playoffs for six consecutive seasons, the franchise's longest ever postseason drought, Wembanyama has the Spurs in a position to make the playoffs and possibly claim the top spot in the Western Conference.
San Antonio is just 2.5 games behind SGA and the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the NBA, and since they are already 4-1 against the Thunder this season, the Spurs own the season tiebreaker. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the Spurs could claim the top spot in the West, and should this happen, Wembanyama's MVP case would only grow.
As the regular season winds down and the Spurs continue to elevate their play to new heights, Wembanyama has once again entered the top three of the NBA MVP rankings with Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic.
Previous 2023-24 NBA MVP Rankings: Week 19 | Week 18 | Week 17 | Week 16 | Week 15 | Week 14 | Week 13 | Week 12 | Week 11 | Week 10 | Week 9 | Week 8 | Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1
1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder*
Previous ranking: #1
2025-26 season stats: 53 games, 31.6 points, 6.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 54.9 FG%, 38.1 3P%
*Can only miss a maximum of 5 more games to remain eligible.
On Monday night, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can tie Wilt Chamberlain's record of 126 consecutive games scoring 20-plus points if he can do so against Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Should he do so, he can break the record set in 1963 on Thursday against the Boston Celtics.
This would be quite the accomplishment for the reigning league MVP, and it would stand out above everyone else on his resume for the MVP award this season. Also, the Thunder owning the best record in the league and likely claiming the 1-seed in the West again helps.
At this point, Gilgeous-Alexander is the favorite to win the award again, and it would take something special from others to possibly usurp him over the next five weeks.
2. Nikola Jokic – Denver Nuggets*
Previous ranking: #2
2025-26 season stats: 48 games, 28.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 1.4 steals, 57.4 FG%, 39.1 3P%
*Can only miss a maximum of 1 more game to remain eligible.
Even all of Jokic's triple-doubles can't save the Nuggets right now, as this team is sinking quickly in the Western Conference standings because of their overall health.
Aaron Gordon recently returned from his month-plus hiatus from a hamstring injury, only for Jamal Murray to twist his ankle, and Jokic has just not looked 100 percent since returning from his hyperextended knee. One has to wonder if he knew he was closing in on the 65-game eligibility line and told the team he would play regardless of his overall health.
Since returning at the end of January, Jokic's turnover numbers have been up, and his production from the perimeter has been abysmal. Jokic is clearly behind SGA in the MVP race right now, and the Nuggets have fallen to the 6-seed in the West standings.
3. Victor Wembanyama – San Antonio Spurs*
Previous ranking: #4
2025-26 season stats: 50 games, 23.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, 50.5 FG%, 35.0 3P%
*Can only miss a maximum of 4 more games to remain eligible.
What Victor Wembanyama does defensively is always overlooked because regular fans understand how tall he is and assume he is a good defender because of that. Obviously, this plays a factor, as being 7'6″ or however tall the Spurs want to say Wemby is helps, but Wembanyama is so savvy when it comes to his positioning and constantly switching matchups on screens.
He gets his teammates in the right position to defend on the perimeter, and when it comes to opposing teams entering the paint, Wembanyama denies almost every opportunity and forces the ball back out to the perimeter for contested jump shots. That is what makes the Spurs a third-ranked defensive team in the NBA, and it's why Wembanyama will win the Defensive Player of the Year award.
As far as the MVP award goes, Wembanyama has jumped up a spot to No. 3 not just because of Cade Cunningham's recent struggles but also because of his success as the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week.
The Spurs have won four straight and 15 of their last 16 games with Wembanyama leading the way, and he has scored at least 25 points in four of the team's last five games. Wembanyama is truly one of the most important players to his team's success in this league, and if the Spurs do pass the Thunder at the top of the standings, there will be a very real conversation about Wemby being the MVP this year.
4. Cade Cunningham – Detroit Pistons
Previous ranking: #3
2025-26 season stats: 56 games, 25.2 points, 9.8 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 45.6 FG%, 34.3 3P%
For the first time all season, the Detroit Pistons and Cunningham have seemed to hit a wall. This team has lost four straight games, their longest losing streak all year, and while Cunningham has scored 26 points or more three times during this span, his turnovers have been a concern.
Not to mention, teams are beginning to single out Cunningham and pick on his teammates with the mindset that Cade alone can't beat them.
Cunningham finds himself in the same grouping as Wembanyama and Jaylen Brown in the sense that they are stars who have taken that next step to becoming superstars this season and have exceeded all expectations placed on them.
Many now view Cunningham as one of the best two-way guards in the league, which is why some believe he deserves more attention in this MVP race than SGA and Jokic, two players who have not changed from a season ago at all. This is certainly a valid argument, and it comes down to one's definition of what the most valuable player actually is.
5. Jaylen Brown – Boston Celtics
Previous ranking: #6
2025-26 season stats: 57 games, 28.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.0 steals, 48.0 FG%, 34.8 3P%
Since Jayson Tatum's return, many have been asking how this impacts Jaylen Brown and the remarkable season he's put together. This is quite an odd question, especially since these two have always complemented one another's style of play perfectly and since they just won a championship by deferring to one another in 2024.
Well, in two games with Tatum, Brown has averaged 23.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the floor. If anything, Tatum being on the floor makes Brown a better player than he was playing alone and being involved in the MVP rankings.
Brown is a sure-thing MVP candidate this season simply because of how he elevated his play to help the Boston Celtics sustain success all season. This was viewed as a “gap year” for the Celtics since Tatum was sidelined with his Achilles injury, but Brown and the rest of the team didn't view it that way.
His play has exceeded expectations tenfold, and it's not hard to say that Brown looks like the best two-way wing in the NBA this season.
Just missing the cut
6. Luka Doncic – Los Angeles Lakers [Ranked No. 5 last week]*
7. Anthony Edwards – Minnesota Timberwolves [Ranked No. 7 last week]
8. Donovan Mitchell – Cleveland Cavaliers [Ranked No. 7 last week]
9. Jalen Brunson – New York Knicks [Ranked No. 9 last week]
10. Kevin Durant – Houston Rockets [Ranked No. 10 last week]
*Signals player is in danger of meeting 65-game minimum threshold for awards/accolades.
