Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama will be looking to deny the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from a repeat MVP win.
The NBA announced the finalists for every individual award in 2025-26. The list is headlined by the MVP battle between Gilgeous-Alexander and the two big men.
The Rookie of the Year race features plenty of intrigue as well with former college teammates Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel the strongest contenders in the field.
2025-26 NBA Awards Finalists
MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets), Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs)
Defensive Player of the Year: Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder), Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs), Ausar Thompson (Detroit Pistons)
Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks), Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets), VJ Edgecombe (Philadelphia 76ers)
Sixth Man of the Year: Tim Hardaway Jr. (Denver Nuggets), Keldon Johnson (San Antonio Spurs), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Miami Heat)
Coach of the Year: J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons), Mitch Johnson (San Antonio Spurs), Joe Mazzulla (Boston Celtics)
Most Improved Player: Jalen Duren (Detroit Pistons), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Atlanta Hawks), Deni Avdija (Portland Trail Blazers)
Clutch Player of the Year: Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets)
The NBA provided a bit of a twist when it ruled Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić and Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham are eligible for awards and All-NBA consideration. They were deemed to qualify despite failing to hit the 65-game threshold.
Their inclusions are unlikely to alter the outcome for MVP, though.
In the final straw poll from ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Gilgeous-Alexander was the runaway winner with 88 first-place votes. Wembanyama was next with eight votes.
The MVP straw poll is generally a reliable indicator as to how voters are leaning, and that’s especially true when one player is so far ahead of the pack.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points and 6.6 assists while the Thunder once again posted the league’s best record (64-18). It looks as though that will propel him to a second straight MVP.
Rookie of the Year is almost the polar opposite in that Flagg entered the year as the consensus pick, only to see Knueppel mount a strong challenge and maybe overtake him.
Flagg generally performed as expected. He averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 70 games. The 19-year-old became the youngest player in NBA history to have 40-point and then 50-point scoring performances.
Knueppel also hit the ground running. He averaged 18.5 points and shot 42.5 percent from beyond the arc, and his ROY candidacy is boosted by the fact he played a meaningful role on a winning team.
The Hornets went 44-38, their best record since 2015-16. Even though Charlotte didn’t make it out of the play-in tournament, it made an impression in the Eastern Conference.
Flagg had better numbers and shouldered a heavier load for his team, while Knueppel played well while enjoying far more team success. A compelling case can be made for either player, and this could be one of the tighter award votes.
