NBA MVP: SGA or Wemby?
Breaking down the NBA MVP race and who’s leading as the season winds to a close.
The Eastern Conference semifinals and Western Conference semifinals of the NBA playoffs have begun, but the NBA still hasn’t announced the winner of the 2026 NBA MVP award.
When will it announce the winner of the award, given to the most valuable player in the NBA for the regular season and voted on by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the league?
Here’s what to know about the announcement, finalists and expected winner for the NBA MVP award for the 2026 season as the Detroit Pistons vs Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks vs Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs second-round NBA playoff series continue.
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When will the NBA MVP be announced?
Interestingly, the NBA MVP award was announced on May 8 in 2024, but the league didn’t announce the award last season until May 21, during the conference finals.
The NBA has not said when it will announce the winner of this season’s NBA MVP Award, but it is expected to once again come during the Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference Finals.
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Who are the NBA MVP finalists?
There are three finalists for the NBA MVP award: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder (who won the award last year), Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
The award is a regular-season award. Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to a 68-14 record in the regular season, averaging 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.
Jokic averaged a triple-double, scoring 27.7 points per game for the Nuggets, with 12.9 rebounds per game and 10.7 assists per game. Denver went 54-28.
Wembanyama guided the Spurs to a 62-20 record. He averaged 25 points per game, 11.5 rebounds per game and 3.1 assists per game in the regular season.
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Who will win the 2026 NBA MVP award?
Gilgeous-Alexander is the favorite to repeat as the NBA MVP in 2026.
NBA.com listed the Thunder star No. 1 on its final MVP ladder at the end of the regular season, with Jokic second and Wembanyama third.
Shaun Powell wrote: “Right from opening night ’til the end, nobody played higher-level basketball without a dip. That explained Gilgeous-Alexander in 2025-26. Some players put together a historic game, a few splashier weeks, even a better month or two. But the entire season? From the get-go? There was Gilgeous-Alexander and then everyone else. Here’s what he did: Establish a record consecutive game streak of 20 point games, drop points with historic efficiency, finish with a 30-point average good for No. 2 in the league, play solid defense, deliver in the clutch (when he didn’t put games away after three quarters), be a constant presence in the lineup, carry the Thunder during key injury absences and lead them to the league’s best record and No. 1 seed in the uber-competitive West (which offered a tough matchup nearly every night). Whew. You can catch your breath now.”
All five NBA.com writers predicted that Gilgeous-Alexander would repeat as NBA MVP in a recent story picking 2025-26 NBA award winners.
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Reach Jeremy Cluff at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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